


Marauders Era: Sirius Black/OC

by InnerWorkingsOfMyMind



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Love/Hate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 04:00:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14512086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerWorkingsOfMyMind/pseuds/InnerWorkingsOfMyMind
Summary: Starts off with a one shot to get you a look into this story, then it get real!A story about how people come close together and how they learn to overlook their differences and learn to love the things that make them special. A love/hate friendship/romance story between our resident badass hot boy Sirius Black and my OC Lauren Clark. Promise to deliver!Mature for language and implications, thats it xx





	1. One shot- 6th year moment between Sirius and Lauren

“Ughh”, she groaned in frustration, glancing at the entrance doors of the giant castle each time she faced it while pacing.

“10 more minutes to go, he should be here by now! Where the hell is he?”

”Chill out, Clark”, were the words spoken by Sirius Black, who much to her chagrin, was stood leaning against the players’ bathroom walls with an eased smirk plastered on his face, way more laid back than he should’ve been.

She stopped, narrowing her eyes. “If you know something you better spill, Black.”

Widening his eyes, he faked surprise. “What, me? Why, I never!”

The rest of the four Gryffindor Quidditch team members collectively groaned. “Not the time, Sirius!”, said Kristen Finnigan, a seventh-year who could only sometimes force the marauders into submission by using her age superiority card.

Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright alright. But I really don’t, guys. Lets just wait a bit I’m sure he’ll be here in a jiffy.”

When he was still met with unbelieving stares, he exclaimed, “Oh come on! When has Prongs ever backed out of a match, huh?”

“Alright”, Lauren sighed in exasperation, “we have seven more minutes, lets just continue.”  
She turned, facing her four team members while Sirius stayed in his position by the wall behind her, eyeing her with amusement. “Finnigan and Bell. Remember the formations you went through: Hawk, Wave, and the Wall. We’ve tried most of these before already but it doesn’t matter because Ravenclaw isn't really the team we need to bring out the big guns for. Good thing is we know they’ll work swell. James and I spied their recent practice and looks like their keeper uses more of his hands rather than his legs. That’s your advantage.”

Turning to the Gryffindor beaters she said, “Patel and Black, all’s simple. Aim for their chasers most of the game since our goal is really high this time. When our team is scoring, aim for their keeper. When I’m chasing the snitch, aim for their seeker.” She took a deep breath and steeled herself as she gave all her attention to Sirius. She was acting leader and the only person who could make her lose her concentration was the one who knew how much of a leader she really was not. 

”Black.” she looked into his stormy grey eyes but pretended to not notice the hint of amusement in them. “Remember the strategy we talked about. When i give you the signal, you aim the bludger for me. Alright? No hesitations, no questioning looks. Just aim it for me. Got it?” He nodded.

”Right.” she turned back to McCormick. Five more minutes left. The crowd was loud today, luckily they were stood away from the stadium, so she didn’t have to shout to be heard. “Ravenclaws must be plotting the same thing for you that we’re plotting against their keeper. Remember to use all your limbs, Tony. Keep alert and don’t get distracted. 80% of the time Chang and Daley pass to each other _right_ before throwing it in so be ready to fly off to the other hoop in an instant. Keep an eye out for those two. Wilson too. He passes to Daley a lot instead of throwing it in, almost like he’s afraid he’ll miss. Use that to your advantage.”

“GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!” The chants were steadily growing louder, Lauren cast another worried glance at the castle. 

“For the love of Merlin, where are you, Potter?” she mumbled under her breath.

She whipped her head back towards her team when Patel’s voice reached her ears. “Looks like you’re forgetting yourself, Clark.” He smirked, “no catching the snitch until 470, remember that.”

She nodded. Of course! “470 470 470. Yeah. Distract their seeker till we have at-least 470. Gotcha.” She released a shaky breath. Her nerves were settling in now. She was in no position to be giving pep talks to the team when her heart was beating so recklessly, pounding against her ears in rhythm with the crowd chants.

“Hey Clark!”

She turned, about to ask what it was when without any prologue lips crashed onto hers and there was a shadow on her face caused by black locks and a particularly tall boy.

Taken aback, her eyes widened in surprise and she went still as a statue. Was she dreaming? Had she fainted from her nerves? To her surprise she found herself closing her eyes and giving in, raising her hand to rake through his hair and about to kiss back and-

She pulled back shoving him away at arms length, sternly holding his arms. She was breathless, from the kiss or from the countdown of the impending match, she knew not.

”What are you doing?”, she mustered a stern whispered command, still not sure what the hell was happening that made her arch nemesis kiss her for gods sake.

He was looking above her head to a distance. He nodded towards that direction and she turned to look at a group of lingering Slytherins, no doubt trying to pick up some strategies and plans to report back to their team for the match against them two weeks later. Oh. It made sense now. Kind of.  
“Giving them something to talk about”. When she turned back to face him, he was already looking at her, smiling, seeming mighty proud of what he’d done.

In a confused daze, she said, “Well..next time... give them something else to talk about. You know, something other than you kissing me.” Sending him a glare as a last attempt to gain an upper hand at the situation, she turned and stormed off, heading towards the ground with thousands of angry, ashamed and confused thoughts pulsing in her head.

 

\----x-----

With about two minutes left to the match, Lauren had finally calmed down, tuning all the feelings she was feeling towards her strategies and moves and pointers. Ignoring the desperate itch within her to immediately rush to Lily or Marlene and tell them about what had just happened to make some sense of it, she focused on her immediate problems. She looked around the stadium, finding some of the Ravenclaw players preparing to take off their brooms. 

“Hey Clark!” oh no. Not again. She braced herself and whipped around.

“Heard you took my place today” A cheeky grin followed. “Should I be worried or..?” 

Walking towards him, she barely managed to _not stomp towards him_. “Where the hell were you?!,” she screeched, “this is height of carelessness James! You literally waltz in two minutes before the match? Bloody hell, you’re lucky you’re good at being a damn chaser, Potter. Next time don’t count on me not snitching you off to McGonagall.” 

“Ah, she sound like Evans to you, Prongs? Sure does to me right now.”

She snapped her towards the speaker and glared, all of her attempts to calm down and forget the prior events for the time-being thrown out the window. She was fuming, and he had the audacity to make jokes right now. “Black, you better watch your fu-”

The shrill sound of Madam Hooch’s whistle interrupted her and she huffed in frustration. Seemed like profanities and lectures would have to wait. Mounting her broom and setting off as soon as James had gone off too, she left behind a very shocked Sirius, eyebrows raised in astonishment, giving way to a slowly-appearing grin. A look that Lauren wished she had missed.

The cheers and yells of the crowd, majority of which were Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, along with about half of the Hufflepuff population and a third of very bored looking Slytherins, managed to drown out the thumping of her heartbeat as she fussed with her gloves and fixed her goggles, tying up her hair tightly. A loud thunder stopped her ritual, and she looked up at the grey sky she had failed to notice earlier, another thing to blame Sirius for. She prayed and prayed the downpour would be stalled for a while, but ended up muttering profanities and curses at the sky when no heed was given to her wishes. 

“Snap out of it Clark!,” Bell yelled, whooshing past her with the quaffle tucked safely under her arm, and Lauren looked up just in time to see a bludger aimed towards her.

She hurriedly whooshed out of the way, making her way higher for a better vantage point. Most of the players looked like red and blue blurs, particularly the chasers, and an hour later the score was soon 260-180 to Gryffindor.  
Halfway through the game, as Lauren scouted the stadium for the snitch while also keeping an eye out for the Ravenclaw seeker, Wood, she began to marvel at her friends’ ability to move as quick as lightening in heavy rain, not looking a bit troubled with their drenched robes weighing them down or the water messing up their vision.

Regardless of his tardiness and a few other annoying habits, James had trained the new players well. There was a time when she harbored feelings of mild envy towards him- Lauren had been on the team just as long as him and played just as well- but now even she had to agree she would’ve never been able to lead the team in the way James had. Hell, even a five minute strategy talk with the team had turned her insides to a mess. 

It was raining even harder now, occasionally accompanied with booming thunder, and she struggled to hear the game commentary. Harsh, cold winds prickled her skin, and her fingerless gloves proved to be about as useless as Peter in Arithmancy. Soon she had lost feeling in her fingers and her face but she gritted her teeth and went on about her job. With two of her most important senses impaired, she had to rely on just her sight- although even that was hindered due to the rain- to watch out for flying players, possibly-death-inducing bludgers, Wood, and the snitch. 

As the score reached 320-280, Lauren Clark still hovered idly in the air, higher up than the other activities of the players, observing the play while also keeping an eye out for Wood in case he spotted the snitch, when she happened to catch a glimpse of Sirius mid-swing and mid-guttural yell. His lithe form hung precariously over his broom, wet hair matted onto his forehead with wet clothes desperately clung to him. Her lips tingled at the sight, and she rubbed them hastily to rid them of the sensation. Never in her wildest dreams, or rather, nightmares, had she ever thought they would share a kiss. It was just _wrong_ , and out of place, and illogical and they hated each other! Surely there could’ve been other ways to distract the Slytherins, right? Right?

Dammit, snap out of it Lauren! This was so not the right time. Ugh. Blast him to hell for doing this to her. Bloody arsehole. Never had she ever lost focus _during_ a match before. She’d have to bathe with holy water after this.

Shaking her head and shooting a last glare towards him in hopes he felt the pain she was currently stabbing him with in her mind, she set off at high speed, taking laps around the ground, searching for the tiny shiny ball more seriously now that their score was nearing 470.

“Aaaand score! James Potter shines as the star of Quidditch once again! Scoring in his 17th goal in 1 match, Gryffindor now leads 400-340!” came the booming voice of Philip Jordan, a 4th year Gryffindor.

About a kilometer away, Lauren heart nearly stopped as she spotted Wood suddenly dropping in height, intensely chasing something invisible towards the ground.

“Bugger!” Clark exclaimed, hurrying towards him at an angle, hoping to intersect Wood before he caught the snitch. Rushing across the ground, she yelled- shouting so loud that it hurt her throat- so that she could be heard across the wind and the loud showers “Watch for the signal, Black!” and “Hurry up Kristen! Cant hold him long!” when Kristen Finnigan passed by her with the Quaffle in her possession.

Man she was really lacking in the luck department today. Everyone knew the one who spotted the snitch first had a better chance of catching it. As she cursed at the gods above for making it harder to navigate with heavy drenched clothes and wet goggles, she pushed her feet against the handles of her trusty broom, leaning almost horizontally onto it and pushing forward with all her might. She sped forward, managing to get ahead of Wood. She spotted it too now, the shiny little bugger flying about towards the bleachers, but quickly eyeing the scoreboard she knew she had to stall somehow. 

Making a sharp turn as soon as she was near enough to the snitch, she made sure the back end of her broom had swatted it away out of sight and without a second of hesitation, she continued speeding away towards the other end of ground, pretending to follow the snitch. She looked back to see if Wood was following.

Yup. Had him fooled.

Time for the big moment. She only hoped Sirius was well..serious and hadn’t taken her briefing before the match as a joke.

She cut across the play area, swerving left and right to avoid chasers and bludgers, and she made way to Sirius who was thankfully waiting for her a few metres away where a bludger was traveling to as well. Wait for my signal, Black, she mentally thought out to him, maintaining eye contact with him. She took a turn, making a wide arc towards him, taking the opportunity to gauge just how closely behind Wood was following.

Wait for my signal, Black. She looked at him.

The bludger was almost as far from him as she was. Perfect.

Wait for my signal. She was nearing towards him, she increased her speed. Right, Left, Up, or Down? Left.

She looked at the bludger few seconds away from his bat. Wait for my signal.

She was a few seconds away from colliding with him. Wood was half a metre behind.

Now! She nodded, and he got the signal. For a split second she was mesmerised by the grim frown that plastered his face and his nostrils flared slightly, as he swung his bat with all the force he could muster, and just as the bludger was about to hit her she swerved sharply to the left, narrowly missing the hit, and she doubted she would ever forget the loud black whoosh that passed by her, managing to even make her heavy wet robes flutter. She distantly heard the crowd going wild and the commentator narrating the events and a loud “Whoop!” that suspiciously sounded like Sirius.

But she didn’t stop. She heard Wood yelp as his broom took a massive blow from the bludger and he tried to gain control of his broom. But she didn’t stop because she had spotted the snitch. Eyeing the scoreboard, she found it was 480- 340 Gryffindor.

She smirked. Perfect.

 

\-----x------

The sweaty, cheery, suffocating, loud group hugs and cheers from the win were almost already a faint memory when Lauren returned from the showers, trudging back towards the castle cloaked in faint pink of the tired sky. A smile seemed to be permanently etched on her face- it had been quite a match, this one- despite the thoughts of a certain repulsively arrogant Gryffindor boy swirling in her mind. 

She was almost weary of them by now, she had stolen a few glances at him as some members of the team returned to their towers while some lingered to chat animatedly about so and so trick they had used or so and so pass or hit they had performed, and she realised with an unwelcome sunken feeling how deeply unaffected he was by the kiss. It hadn’t mattered to him, it was just a casual gesture he took upon himself to misguide the sly Slytherin spies. If it didn’t affect him, she decided, it wouldn’t affect her either. It was a thing that happened, no one cared, they won the match, she was the star, and now she was going to go back to the Gryffindor tower and enjoy the party the Marauders had undoubtedly thrown.

It seemed the loud excitement didn’t need to be a faint memory, because as soon as she stepped in all 69 Gryffindors erupted in cheers again, raising their bottles and glasses of varying alcohols and juices (after all, 60 of them were still underage, though 20 of them chose to forego the law). She grinned, “Where’s mine, Potter? I deserve a solid one, I’d say”. 

James chuckled, tossing her a chilled butterbeer, “You’re 16, this is the best I can give you.”

She frowned, eyeing the drink in his other hand, “Yeah? Why do you get whiskey and I get this?” she pointed, raising the butterbeer dejectedly.

He winked, “Lily’s watching. I’m not gonna personally give her underage friend alcohol”. He leaned in, whispering dramatically “You should find Padfoot for the ‘solid ones’ though. Don’t tell her I told you that” he added.

She wrinkled her nose, “No thanks, I’d rather willingly eat a booger flavoured bean than willingly talk to him. I already had to talk way too much to him thanks to you being late” she glared at him.

“Is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

“WHA- what! HEY!-” she spluttered, but he was already gone, his laughter dissolving in the loud music in the room.

Sighing, cursing her luck for being roomed with jerks and idiots (for six years! I mean come on), both of which attributes could be applied to James alone, she stood on her spot alone pondering whether reliving that humiliating experience was worth getting a drink.

The gryffindor chatter was loud as ever, drunk teens dancing to the atrociously bad wizard music blasting from the charmed radio, Frank and Alice having a go at seeing who could suck each others face off the quickest, Lily and James already having gotten into a quarrel- it was about how people under 17 shouldn’t have gotten their hands on the firewhiskey and James enthusiastically defending himself saying it wasn’t him this time, meanwhile the fourth and fifth years had already transfigured all the textbooks lying around into paper birds, and most of the sixth and seventh year girls were flocked around Black.  
Somehow, Lauren was sure they weren’t there for the free alcohol. It was times like these when she hopelessly wished she had been sorted in Hufflepuff. Or even Ravenclaw. Surely they were way _quieter_ and _less messier_.

Yup. She definitely needed a drink.

Pushing her way through the girls surrounding Black who seemingly had no self-respect at all, she stood before him defiantly ignoring the whiny protests coming from behind her.

“We need to talk.”

Grabbing his hand and leading him out the portrait hole as hurriedly as she could without looking back, she sighed in relief when the silence of the halls enveloped them both.

”Aren’t you a bit too excited?”

She whipped her head up at him. “What?”

He sighed exasperatedly, leaning against the wall with one hand in his pocket and examining the other daintily. “I mean, look, I know I shouldn’t have kissed you back there not because my strategy wasn’t good enough because it was but actually because I have a kind of ..effect on girls, you know?..”

What? What _was_ this guy, honestly?! She stared at him in shock and in disbelief, because never in her 16 years of teen drama ridden life had she _ever_ come across a person so full of themself. 

”..and to be honest I kind of forgot you’re a girl too. I mean I try really hard to always keep it in mind but you don’t make it any easier to remember, do you? Now, I understand you want more of me if you know what I mean but girl, I’ve got to say a no to that you can’t get addicted to m-”

”This is an act, right?” her voice interjected.

He blinked.

”I mean, either you’re really big-headed and are genuinely egotistical and full of yourself or you don’t even know that’s how you are and actually think you come across as considerate, kind and nice and _I don’t even know what’s worse!_ ”

He blinked again, an innocent look on his face.

”UGH!” she was seconds away from tearing her hair out, every minute of interaction with him was enough to infuriate her and ruin her mood for days. Admittedly, their fights had been much, much worse in their earlier years but she’d like to think she’d matured and did her best to let him off and not get into fights with him these days. 

She couldn’t fucking believe she’d let his kiss affect her so much. So much that it had been in her mind throughout the day!

To keep her temper from boiling even more and also to keep her detention count at a minimum this year, she resorted to communicate with him in a short and precise way. Worked great for Slytherins, should work well for him too.

”Don’t ever fucking do that again. Just because we’re friends now doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to hex your arse again. In fact, stay out of my way this week because I want to let you off for kissing me without consent, but one more bull from you and I’ll lose it. And for the record, there were a million other fucking ‘strategies’ that would’ve worked better than you kissing me.”

His eyebrows were raised throughout the speech, and much to Lauren’s oblivion, he was desperately trying to fight off a smile. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off.

”I’m not done.”

She went silent, unsure of how to relay her message next. He nodded his head towards her to prod her to speak but she hesitated.

In her most commanding voice she spoke again.

”James told me you’re supposed to give me my alcohol. Give it to me and _then_ never speak to me this week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay or Nay? I have a couple of ideas for a story between them. Since this takes place in sixth- year, I'll probably write from 4th to post-hogwarts. I don't plan to kill either of them because I've read so many good fanfics but in the end one of them always gets killed off and THAT HURTS. But that being said, it isn't sure yet lol. Depends on how you guys like it and if i should make a story out of this piece. Thanks for reading!! Leave a kudos to support! <3
> 
> (also my timeline/wordings/trivia knowledge and stuff might be a bit wonky cuz i havent read the books in ages. theres always a place for improvement, i dont mind critique or corrections!)


	2. Chapter 1: Family and Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Alexstrasza, Bugma, TeamRedSpiderBaby, and Squishy97 were absolute sweethearts and it convinced to write more on this! <3
> 
> Stay patient for this one! SiriusxLauren interaction is scattered throughout this chapter. Took it a little bit slow since this is an introduction and how Lauren became friends with everyone and such. Some character developments bits here and there too. Hope you like it!

The arrival of the Hogwarts letter in the Clarks household had not served as a surprise. Although both the men of the house were muggles through and through, Mrs. Clark definitely had magic in her blood, and it was clear it had been passed down to Lauren as soon as she was able to walk. Mr. Clark often stated that probably no child in the world had wreaked as much havoc as little Laur had and he owed the reason to her magic abilities- although he would soon be proven wrong when his one and only baby boy would be born, with not a drop of magic in him, but able to break all and any glass object within his reach.

New parents although they were, Lauren was raised with all the love they could possibly give, and with both her mum’s magical knowledge and her dad’s muggle one, she soon grew up to be a very bright 11 year old witch.

With the Hogwarts letter lovingly placed on the mantle above the fireplace, and all sorts of arrangements already taking place when Lauren would go to Scotland to study in a few months, Mr. and Mrs. Clark could definitely say they were a little shocked when they received the last thing they ever expected- Lauren’s detention letter in the mail. 

”That bloody slimeball said I was a freak again!”

”Lauren, you broke his nose.”

”Well, yeah! He called me weird and said all my friends were weird to be hanging out with me too! How is it my problem that I can’t control my magic? Just because I’m different doesn’t mean he can treat me that way!”

Her mother eyed the puzzled 5th year class teacher and gave her a sheepish smile, “She has a wild imagination.”

The teacher- Mrs. Shelby- gave her a disapproving look.

She sighed and looked at Lauren, crouching in front of her, “Love, people will call you all sorts of things. That’s what they do. You know why?”

There was a scowl on Lauren’s face but had softened immediately when her mother placed her big hands on her tiny arms.

”Because they’re slimeballs?”

”Because they have nothing better to do. Or because they’re jealous of you and what you have. That’s the nature most people have. But does that mean you’ll go around breaking everyone’s noses?”

”Are you saying that I’m wrong? Mum I thought you’ll be on my side! You hate it when people look at you weird too!”

”I do. But we both are different and we’ve got to fit in, don’t we? But always remember to keep your head held high, Laur. When you start believing in yourself, their words won’t matter anymore.”

Lauren sighed dejectedly, a lump lodged painfully in her throat. “So I should do nothing and just ignore what they say?”

Mrs. Clark grinned. “No. If believing in yourself still doesn’t make them go away, then I give you permission to tell them a thing or two. But no physical violence. We’re better than that, aren’t we, love?”

Lauren nodded reluctantly.

She hugged her daughter tightly, “And always remember to stand up for those who feel the same as you too, Laur. We’re a minority, we’ve got to help each other.”

She pulled back and stood up, facing her daughter’s teacher impatiently standing a distance away. “You should’ve been a better teacher, Mrs. Shelby. We leave our kids in your hands for the whole day and you couldn’t even stop some kid verbally bullying my daughter? What are you here for if you can’t provide basic protection to kids? That Pete kid has been treating my daughter like this for years now!”

Mrs. Shelby visibly sputtered, unable to believe the lecture she was sure was going to be delivered to her student was now being delivered to her instead.

”Wha- I didn’d kno- I-”

”It doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Clark snapped- and Lauren looked at her with amazement- “my daughter will not be attending this school anymore. She already has an acceptance letter from a much better school than this will ever be. Good day to you.” She walked off, with Lauren’s clammy hand held in her warm ones, leaving behind a stunned Mrs. Shelby.

\-----------x------------

And that is how Lauren, 11 year old Lauren, started off Hogwarts with a bang, ready to take on anything that came her way, always striving to treat it with as much badassery and sass and confidence her mother possessed.

The 4 months that she stayed at home were just enough for a basic crash course in magic and its terminologies, and enough to let her know that without a doubt she belonged in the almighty house of Ravenclaw. So sure was she, that most of the muggle clothes she had packed had been hues of blue and bronze.

So imagine her confusion when the dumb old Sorting Hat screamed out Gryffindor! the moment it touched her head.

Shet stepped off the dais and walked in a daze towards her new family, a sea of crimson and gold, rising in waves as they clapped, cheered and hollered for their new member.

”Cant believe you’re actually disappointed. You’re really stupid if you don’t like Gryffindor.” It was Sirus Black who said that, the same dude who had been cracking jokes with the friends he made pretty quickly in the train carriage, same dude who had leapt with joy and Lauren was pretty sure said “So long, Suckers!” to the Slytherins after he was sorted into Gryffindor.

Lauren didn’t even register he had just called her stupid because of her surprise, “ How did you know I was disappointed?”

He shrugged, cutting a piece of chicken, sitting across from her, “Well, you don’t look happy enough.”

”I just..” she wondered if she should disclose her thoughts to a stranger. Then she thought oh what the hell and did it anyway. “I just thought I was really smart. I’ve always scored 90s in Maths and Science! I don’t wanna be stupid I wanna be in Ravenclaw.” 

”Just because you’re in Ravenclaw doesn’t mean you’re smart. And just because you’re in Gryffindor doesn’t mean you’re not smart.” He shrugged again, and with those words of wisdom he set his full concentration on his chicken again.

Lauren frowned, decided that his words did make a lot of sense, and concluded that she would enjoy the feast and the evening by making conversation with a lovely girl her age called Lily next to her.

\----x-----------

She hadn’t been as lucky as Sirius to find friends that would turn out to be her dorm-mates as well during the train ride. Instead, she’d sat with two older Gryffindors, Alice Fortescue and Frank Longbottom, who’d been nice and invited her in and even talked to her about how school, the teachers and the classes were like. Lauren thought they were really close- they must be best friends.

Though that had been nice, she was left alienated in the Great Hall but had luckily sat next to Lily Evans who was quite chatty; Lauren presumed it was because of her nerves. 

”I’m really nervous, you know!” Ah, there you go.

“I’ve studied in a muggle school so I had to really catch up on a lot of magic. I’m a muggleborn, you know! So I read up on all our coursebooks for the year and I’m hoping that’ll be enough. I read Hogwarts: A History because I didn’t have anyone to go to who could tell me about it. Although I did talk to Mr. Olivander for a while he’s pretty groovy.”

If she were being honest, Lauren immediately felt a bit anxious because she had definitely not read any of the coursebooks yet but caught onto one bit of information that she related to. 

“My mum’s a muggleborn too! And my dad’s a muggle so that makes me a half-blood.”

Lily visibly livened up. It must have been quite scary thinking you’re the only one who doesn’t have a wizard/witch for a relative when you’re surrounded by everyone who did. No wonder she seemed so nervous.

“That’s so cool! I’m glad I’ll have someone who’ll know the Bee Gees songs I sing.”

“I’m glad I’ll have someone who knows who the Bee Gees are.”

Lily looked at Lauren. Lauren grinned at Lily. Lily grinned back, and they both knew they were going to be each others pillars of support through everything from now on.

“And yes, Mr Ollivander is pretty groovy.”

\---------x----------

“Hello, do you mind if I sit here? The entire library is full.”

Lauren looked up and nodded before she could get a word in. She was sure that Remus was by far the best boy she had ever come across, both outside and inside Hogwarts. She had seen him helping her dorm-mates, and politely asking questions in class. His questions were really intellectual too and she was blown away- she didn’t know boys came with intelligence.

”I’m Remus Lupin. I’m in Gryffindor in your year.”

She laughed, “Of course I know who you are, Remus, we’ve had classes together for two months now.”

He smiled, “Yes, but I’ve never formally introduced myself to you.”

How. Polite! None of the other boys in her year were like that and she desperately forced herself to not grin like an idiot.

“Well, in that case, I’m Lauren Clark. Gryffindor in your year as well.” 

He grinned. “I know. You were the first one in the class to perform the Body-Binding Curse.”

She didn’t realise she was grinning too by now. “Ah, I just got lucky. You were the first one to make a usable Forgetfulness Potion though.”

”WELL, if you two lovebirds don’t mind me interrupting, is this seat taken?”

Lauren glared at the black-haired boy standing near the empty seat next to Remus.

“Yes.” It was not taken, but Sirius was annoying her a lot these days.

He sat down anyway. “Ah, that’s a shame then. Looks like your imaginary friend will have to find some other place to go.”

He’d been like this quite often lately. Arrogant, rude, and he reminded her an awful lot of a slimeball back home. Only difference being he didn’t bully others. Unable to stand being around him and his remarks, she exhaled in annoyance and slammed her books shut.

“Me and my imaginary friend are going to go away from your rude arse then. See you in class, Remus”. Shooting Sirius a deathly glare and nodding distractedly at Remus, she picked up her books and stormed off.

She hadn’t taken 5 steps out of the library when she immediately regretted her decision to walk out. It had been quite difficult to find an empty seat in the library as everyone was catching up on their previous year’s material and seniors often blocked seats and didn’t allow first-years near them. But no, her pride was at stake here and she would never allow herself to go back while Sirus was still there.

She was hurrying up the second flight of stairs when she a heavy hand landed on her right shoulder. She yelped in surprise and turned around, looking at the very devil bent down with a hand on his knees and his dark hair hanging down covering his face.

“You- you’re” he wheezed, “You’re really fast.”

Lauren rolled her eyes, shook his hand off and continued walking up the stairs.

”Wait-”

”Leave me alone, Black. I don’t wanna talk to you.”

”What, we’re back to last names now? All because of what I said back there? It was a joke!”

”Well, it wasn’t very funny to me.”

“No wait-” he rushed up the stair to catch up to her.

“You’ve been rude to me ever since classes began. I ignored it before but I don’t know what problem you have with me-”

”No Lauren wait-”

“-but I won’t tolerate it! Others might laugh at your lame jokes but I won’t! You’re being a total shithead to most of us and someone has to call you ou- AH!”

The step her right leg was on suddenly disappeared and her foot got caught, pangs of agony shooting up her leg. It felt like her ankle was on fire and she bit her lip, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

Sirius finally caught up to her and knelt next to her, concern in his stormy grey eyes. “Are you alright?? I told you to wait!”

”What?” 

“I kept saying ‘wait’!”

“Why would I wait for you?! I told you I don’t want to talk to you!”

“I was trying to warn you about the trick step!”

“How was I going to know that?!”

“Well if you listened, you would!!”

“Who the hell says ‘wait’ when they’re trying to warn someone?!”

“Yeah?? What are we supposed to say then, according to your wise self?”

“HOW ABOUT ‘HEY THERE’S A TRICK STEP’ ???”

He stopped short. “I- well I didn’t have ti- time for that, you know. I was trying to get a word in and I was gonna-”

She sighed. “Doesn’t matter now. Can we continue arguing on the way to the infirmary?” she deadpanned.

“Oh. Right. Yeah good idea” Sirius hurriedly cast a spell to free her foot and glanced at her worriedly when he noticed she bit her lip again to stop herself from crying out.

Helping her up, they set off, up more flights of stairs towards the infirmary. She was limping quite badly, and she begrudgingly relied on him for support. She tried her best to disregard his hand on her waist, because no boy had ever come close to her like this, and that was the last thing she wanted to focus on.

“I am sorry, you know.”

She looked up at him in surprise, both because he had spoken so suddenly and because she had never expected those words from him, arrogant that he was.

“I-its okay. I was going off about how I don’t like you, I guess it was just instant karma.” She chuckled at her own quip.

“No, I meant about what I said at the library. I mean- I’m also sorry you broke your ankle but- I guess I was taking out my anger on you all this time by being rude and I never noticed.”

He glanced down at her. “So..I’m really sorry. I’ll try to keep my rude arse and shitty head in check” He gave her a tentative smile.

She let out a small laugh despite herself. “Shithead is one word.”

“What?”

“Its one word. I didn’t mean you have a shitty head, I meant you’re a shithead.” She smiled.

“Oh. Uh..thanks. I guess.” He deadpanned.

She chuckled again. “But I take it back. I’ve been irritable for a while now and I took it out on you. I guess you’re kinda nice when you want to be.”

He smiled too, and a few moments later it got really awkward. 11 year olds never said cheesy stuff to their classmates like this. And they were hardly even friends.

Lauren cleared her throat. “So uh..what’s got you angered up?”

“Oh it’s nothing..it’s just..” He eyed her and saw her looking curiously at him.

“Well..how much do you know about the Blacks?”

“Ah.” she nodded in understanding. “Your parents are going bonkers because you got sorted in Gryffindor, huh?”

He sputtered in surprise, “Wha- How did you know?” It was only 2 months into the school year, and sure he had received a howler from his beloved mother but he had destroyed it before anyone had heard. He hadn’t even got a chance to tell James and Remus about it. Not that he was planning to. It was his problem and he would deal with it on his own. But the question was, how did Lauren Clark, a girl that he had hardly spoken to- and when he had it had only been jests and remarks- know all about his family problems?

“It’s pretty obvious they wouldn’t be happy when you think about it.” She looked deep in thought, and spoke like she was solving a problem, not talking about her classmate’s family problems. “Honestly, the Blacks are known to be into the Dark Arts and every member so far has been a Slytherin. Those that are anything else are disowned from the family. So if your parents are anything like I think they are, they’d probably be troubling you now and then and be quite livid that their elder son and heir was sorted into the rival house.”

Sirius Black, for the first time ever, was speechless. He didn’t know how to react. Be angry at how she spoke about him and his family so casually and insensitively, be embarrassed and humiliated that even 11 year olds knew all about his family’s wrong-doings, annoyed at how she acted like she knew everything, be absolutely shocked that she did know (almost) everything or be relieved that someone was in on his secret and allow her to be his safe place, someone he could confide everything to.

For the first time, in front of someone who wasn’t family, he was vulnerable.

“You could have just said ‘A lot’.” he said, irritably. He didn’t like this, he didn’t like it at all. No one else had known. He felt..exposed.

Hurriedly changing the topic he asked, almost rudely, “What had your knickers in a twist all this while then?”

Lauren shot him a glare he didn’t notice, and on second thought she was glad he didn’t. She realised he was lashing out because she had been way too upfront and honest than she should’ve been.

Desperately trying to rectify her mistake she tried to lighten up the mood, “Oh you know, being around you for even a week is enough to turn the nicest people into big meanies.”  
She added in a laugh so he’d know she was joking.

It didn’t work though, and she was surprised. He stopped short. “That’s not fair.”

He stared at her, and she tried her best to maintain eye contact. It was no secret that Sirius Black was blessed with great looks and even girls older than him did a double take when he walked past.

“What isn’t?”

“I don’t know how but somehow you just know everything about my life. I don’t even get to explain it myself because you’ve already got it all sorted out! You know things I haven’t told to closest of my friends and when its your turn to talk you start beating around the bush. Where’s your honesty now?”

Broken ankle long forgotten, all Lauren could think about was his accusation. She was just trying to lighten up the mood, for Merlin’s sake! And that’s exactly what she told him, as indignantly as she could.

He scoffed. “Don’t play yourself. You’re just trying to avoid the topic and it’s clear as ever.”

Rolling her eyes, she snapped, “Well fine. Maybe I was. But it doesn’t matter because it’s just some stupid roommate matter and not nearly as serious or important as yours anyway.”

“If it’s a matter that is affecting you this much then its just as important to listen to.”

She eyed him tiredly and sighed in dejection. She knew he was right but...she couldn’t figure this guy out. Sometimes he’d be the scum of the earth, sometimes a total joker, and sometimes he’d say the wisest things that her mother would probably say too. 

“Yeah. Can I tell you about it some other day though? I do have a broken ankle, you know.” She tried a smile again.

And this time, it took a while, but he smiled back. “Alright. Lets go.”

She thought she’d escaped successfully but moments later he mumbled under his breath in a sing-song voice “Still avoiding thoughhh!”

She elbowed him. He yelped “Ow!”. She smirked and he rolled his eyes. 

Both felt that this was possibly a start of a budding friendship and both knew they’d grow closer as they grew up together, living like a family. Neither of them knew, however, that the conversation promised by Lauren was soon going to be forgotten, but regardless, this was going to be a moment that would be cherished in their memories forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please leave a kudos or (better yet,) a comment so I know someone is out there reading my stuff! <3
> 
> I'm not perfect, so if you find any mistakes or have any critiques, please let me know! xx


	3. Chapter 2: The Worst Dares Slash Bets In History- Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still new to this so I got carried away with the word count lmao hope you enjoy though!

It was about 3 months into the year by when the Gryffindor boys had established a name for themselves. 

”Man, Potter is so cool. He hexed Avery with a hair loss curse the other day. We haven’t even learned that yet!”

”And Lupin too. He skips like, a week’s worth of classes every month and he’s _still_ topping the class! _How is he doing that?_ ” 

“Did you lads hear about the whole gang getting caught by Mr.Filch at 4am yesterday? Apparently they’ve been ‘exploring the castle’ every night!”

“What the hell? My mom doesn’t even let me stay up later than 12! She checks on me on every bloody letter she sends!”

“I didn’t know boys gossip too.” Lauren stated as she, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas and Mary walked past the group of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys huddled together on the way to the Great Hall for breakfast. 

Marlene scoffed, “They do basically everything we girls do. They’re just too wuss to admit it.”

“Is that true? I’ve never seen a boy obsess over a pimple or their hair,” Mary wondered.

Lauren eyed her friend and smirked, “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen Sirius admiring his own reflection on his dinner spoon.”

“Or Potter,” Lily piped up, “He’s so conceited, I swear. Always showing off when he performs a spell before anyone else. Yesterday, he must have bragged about it 20 times during Charms alone.” She walked slightly ahead, with the other girls walking behind as they exchanged mischievous glances. 

“Interesting that you should notice.”

Lily whipped around. “Who said that?”

“Who said what?”

“Who said its interesting that I should notice?”

“No one? Why, do you think its interesting?” Lauren grinned, and Dorcas was fighting off a smile with her life.

Lily stared. “I’m gonna kill you all.”

Marlene burst out laughing, and the others followed immediately after. Only Mary smiled and offered her a comforting pat on her shoulder, the girls separating when they reached the hall to sit on either sides of the table.

Lily sighed as she slumped down on her seat. “I _swear _, there’s nothing between Potter and I and there never will be- you guys need to stop teasing me about him or the whole school will think its real.”__

____

“Lily, he wrote a poem for you.” Marlene stated.

____

“Oh it was hardly a poem, no rhymes or structure at all.”

____

“And he calls her all these cute pet names these days.” Lauren added.

____

“I wouldn’t necessarily call them cute.”

____

“Oh and the other day he came all the way to the library just to give her some pudding when she missed dinner!” Mary excitedly recalled.

____

“So does Severus but I never hear you guys being excited about it!”

____

That shut the girls up. Lauren didn’t have anything against Severus, she thought he was just misunderstood and was often able to see his nice qualities like Lily did. The other girls however, never shied away from expressing their dislike of him and their discontent whenever Lily spent hours in the library studying with him or hung out with him for most of the weekends.

____

Desperately trying to change the topic so there wouldn’t be a repeat of the small argument the girls had had in their dorm recently, Dorcas exhaled tiredly as she fiddled with her cutlery. “I just hope Professor Slughorn will accept my essay. I can’t believe we have to write a foot and a half on properties of frog eyes. That’s so much work!”

____

Not noticing what had been a few seconds of tense atmosphere, Lauren snorted, “You clearly haven’t been to muggle schools. A foot and a half is nothing.”

____

“I second that,” Lily added, “And the topics weren’t nearly as interesting as frog eyes either.”

____

Dorcas groaned, “Why am I even talking to you about this? Of _course_ you find frog eyes interesting.”

____

Lily scowled but said nothing as she shoved mashed potatoes in her mouth.

____

Dorcas suddenly perked up. “Oh hey Potter!!”

____

Both Lily and Lauren simultaneously whipped their heads up from their plates and looked where Dorcas was talking to James- the other 3 boys taking their places next to the girls.

____

Mary raised her eyebrow at Lily.

____

“Oh shut up, you know I don’t like him!”

____

Mary shrugged, “Fair enough. What about you, Clark?”

____

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Where James goes, Sirius goes. I told you its awkward between us ever since he helped me to the infirmary that day.”

____

Mary nodded in response, “Acceptable.”

____

Dorcas was already asking James if he’d done the Potions essay.

____

“Of course I did Meadowes, what do you take me for? I'll have you know I’m a model student of Hogwarts.” Every 1st year Gryffindor sitting nearby rolled their eyes.

____

Dorcas gasped, “Really?! How did you manage to fill up a foot and a half?”

____

James leaned in surreptitiously, “I’ll give you a valuable tip, my friend.”

____

Dorcas visibly held her breath and waited.

____

“Write big letters.” The whole gang collectively scoffed, someone even said ‘as expected’.

____

Sighing, she returned to her breakfast mumbling “can’t believe I fell for that.”

____

Lauren snorted. “10 sickles says it won’t work.”

____

Without missing a beat, she got her reply. “You’re on.” She wasn’t even sure he’d thought it through or knew what he’d agreed on. Lets just say she was about to be 10 sickles richer.

____

“It most definitely does. I did it with the History of Magic essay,” Sirius bragged, subtly flipping his hair back. With the way he inserted himself to the conversation so easily, Lauren wondered if it had been just her feeling the awkwardness. Despite living in the same tower and attending the same classes, they hadn’t had much interaction since The Broken Ankle Day. He was hardly around, in fact, always hanging out with the boys -and yes, the rumours had been right- exploring the castle grounds. The last few things she remembered doing around him was sending a small smile or a nod his way; saying “12:40” when he asked the time, and “yeah” when he once asked if Care of Magical Creatures was the next lesson. 

____

Regardless, her response came easily. She laughed, “Oh congratulations, you fooled a century old ghost.”

____

His grin fell of his face. “Ouch, that hurt my pride, Clark.”

____

She smiled innocently, “If you truly think it works, I’m sure you’ll be willing to try it with, say, Professor McGonagall next time.”

____

Copying James, she leaned in surreptitiously too. “Give you a chance to show where your Gryffindor bravery’s been hiding.”

____

She heard the whole gang oooohh in the background but her eyes stayed fixed on Sirius’. 

____

He saw the blatant challenge in her eyes but didn’t falter a bit as he flipped up his index finger, “Uh, excuse me, I’ll have you know I’m definitely the braver one of the two of us here.”

____

She jumped upon her chance. “Great! Prove it.” she grinned. There was something absolutely amusing about seeing someone dig their own grave without realising it. “20 sickles says you’ll be caught.”

____

Weaving a hand though his hair, he let out a bark of laughter. “20 sickles? That’s nothing! What’s in it for me?”

____

Lauren blinked.

____

“No, I have a better idea.” he smirked.

____

She blinked again.

____

“I’ll do it if you agree to spend the entire night outside the Gryffindor tower without being caught by Filch. No cheating like hiding in the broom cupboard the entire time or anything.”

____

He leaned in. “Give you a chance to show where _your_ Gryffindor bravery’s been hiding.”

____

Crap. This time it was her grin that fell off her face. Did she just freaking dig her own grave while watching him dig his? Who even was the winner here?!

____

“That- that’s- those 2 things aren’t even comparable. All you have to do is submit a crappy essay while I have to spend the night outside the tower?!”

____

“Are you backing out, then?” he smiled innocently. She wanted to smack it off his face.

____

Her face showed intent determination, but deep down, boy was she panicking. Yes she was a brave Gryffindor, but she’d never broken the rules. Unless you counted breaking a classmate’s nose....but still! It didn’t even matter if she didn’t know yet where the other house towers were or what the other staircases led to- she didn’t have any time to explore while studies were going on and was content in doing it during a free weekend. She knew there was no way she was coming out of the night undefeated by a detention slip. She knew Lily and Mary would have a choice few words to say about her stupidity.

____

But nose and chin high up in the air, subconsciously flipping her shoulder-length hair back, she said the words she knew she’d regret.

____

“No way in hell. You’re on, Black.” 

____

 

____

\------------x-----------

____

“You’re so stupid.” Lily stated, as everyone walked to their first class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

____

Lauren sighed. There was no going back now.

____

“Both of you are,” Remus said. “This has got to be the worst dares slash bets in the history of dares slash bets.”

____

James turned to Lily and Remus. “Let them be, you guys.” He turned back to the front of the group, looking at Sirius and Lauren. “You do realise both of you are going straight to detention though, right?”

____

“Jamesie dear your lack of faith in me baffles me.”

____

Marlene deadpanned. “James _you_ do realise you’re about to lose 10 sickles if you’re convinced Sirius won’t win?”

____

Lily laughed, “This might just turn out to be the best Potions class we’ll have in a while.”

____

Peter snorted, “I should think so. That man is such a bore.”

____

Lily frowned. “He’s a nice teacher. He always compliments his students and gives them a fair grading. He even hands out so many house points for each potion!”

____

The others wondered if they should mention that Slughorn was anything but fair and his daily hobby was favoritism towards the smarter students of the bunch. Bonus points if they have good connections. Not wanting to shatter her innocent naivety though, they made an unspoken promise to not break the news to her.

____

The day went by quickly, as it often did during a busy day of classes, the only highlights of the day being Mulciber of Slytherin accidentally slipping on a puddle of spilled potion; Lauren smugly walking out of the class with 10 extra sickles in her pocket; Peter taking a fall face down on the muddy ground when he tripped on his own robe during Flying Lesson; 7th year Lucius Malfoy and 5th year Narcissa Black being caught skipping class by- once again- Mr Filch, and soon everyone was taking their seat in the Great Hall for lunch. Everyone was excited, because it had been settled that Sirius and Lauren’s dares slash bets had been serious and they would definitely be going through with it.

____

“There’s no way you’re surviving a whole night, Laur, the boys themselves got caught last night and Malfoy and Narcissa Black just got caught too. All by Mr. Filch!”

____

“Its that cat of his,” Sirius scowled. “Comes out of nowhere, I tell you. Here’s a tip for you, be careful of that pesky little thing.”

____

James nodded sagely. “That’s how he got us. Otherwise no one would’ve ever known.”

____

“How are you so sure?” Dorcas frowned.

____

The 4 boys exchanged glances. Remus shrugged, “Just some tricks up our sleeves” he said vaguely.

____

Lauren chewed on her steak. “Well, Sirius isn’t surviving McGonagall’s wrath, either. If Slughorn can notice, McGonagall definitely will.” She turned to Sirius. “I bid you farewell, my friend.”she smirked in victory.

____

“Don’t talk while you’re eating, ya nasty.” Sirius deadpanned.

____

Lauren rolled her eyes, and James clapped his hands to continue the conversation. “Well, its been decided then. Tonight, Lauren will complete her dare slash bet first. Tomorrow morning, Sirius has to do his during Transfiguration. Loser gets detention, winner gets..uh..” he looked around cluelessly, “what does the winner get?”

____

“My point exactly,” Remus said exasperatedly.

____

“ _The winner_ ,” Sirius started, pointedly glaring at Remus, “gets bragging rights and the ultimate reward of being the bravest among us two.”

____

“That’s boring, why not spice it up a bit?”

____

“Yes!” 

____

“No!”

____

Sirius turned to Lauren in surprise. “You’re not _scared_ , are you?”

____

“ _No_ , I’m not.” she glared, “Its just that we agreed to do this to prove we belong in Gryffindor, nothing more.”

____

Peter stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Why don’t we have the loser serve as a slave to whoever wins- that is, if anyone wins?”

____

”Oohh yes!”

____

“No!”

____

James tutted. “Come on, Lauren. You both are most definitely going to lose anyway. If in the slightest chance you do win, don’t you want the whole struggle to be worth it?”

____

James, Sirius and Peter exchanged smirks and sly glances once again as they saw Lauren’s fallen face, but it went unnoticed as she turned to her female support group for consulting. 

____

”Don’t agree to it, its a trap,” Lily said wisely.

____

“Yeah but if she doesn’t, they’ll just say she’s wimping out and then he’ll indirectly win.” Mary added.

____

“Then there’s no end to it! You cant just go agreeing to every thing they say! I’m still against you spending a night outside the Gryffindor tower in the first pla-”

____

Lauren didnt need to hear anymore. She had agreed to do the most dangerous thing she could think of, no way was she going to let it be fruitless.

____

She turned to Sirius and James and they were visibly surprised when she nodded firmly. “Loser gets detention, winner gets a slave. For a week.”

____

Before they could say anything else, she interjected, “Now you better not add anything else to this.” She turned to Sirius. “And no cheating.”

____

He placed a hand on his chest, pulling his sincerest face. “I would _never_.”

____

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then let it go.

____

She nodded, and turned back to her steak. Sirius, still surprised that she had agreed, turned to his lunch too, and neither said anything else as conversations turned to different topics and carried on throughout lunch.

____

\------x---------

____

Classes had finally ended, students had returned to their towers after dinner- some remaining in the common room to do their homework, some retiring for the night.

____

And some passing time by playing Gobstones by the fire as they waited for curfew, when Lauren Clark would step out of safety into the scary world of vast, empty hallways, devoted Prefects, and loony Mr. Filch and his girlfriend Mrs. Norris.

____

“You’re absolutely bonkers for actually doing this. They say Mr. Filch is really strict and the one thing he can’t stand is trouble-making students.” Dorcas spoke in a low tone.

____

Lauren casually shrugged, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. “It’ll be fine,” she said, dragging out the ‘fine’. “You just keep an eye out on this one,” nodding towards Sirius, who jumped up and shrieked as the marbles spit out the putrid fluid on his hair. “I don’t trust him at all.”

____

“MY HAIRR! I just washed and conditioned it today!”

____

Mary looked over curiously at the two girls. “You know, I get that its awkward between you two because you were uncomfortable around him or something..but you seem to have strong opinions about him,” she frowned, “did something else happen?”

____

“Nah,” Lauren said tiredly, “its just his rule-breaking and trouble-making, you know? I’m just wary of him, that’s all.”

____

The bright hues of the flickering fire cast shadows on her face, as she lay lazily on the sofa. All day she attempted to cook up some strategies to survive the night, but came up with nothing. By the time classes ended, it looked like she would have to deal with obstacles on the spot if she came across them. Now, however, she had come to the realisation that this was probably going to be the most exciting thing that happened to her in this castle after being able to use magic openly for the first time. Yes, this was a harsh dare, but she’d be damned if she didn’t make good use of it and enjoyed it fully. 

____

With that set in mind, she sprang up when the clock finally struck twelve, and made her way out as the portrait swung open. Ignoring the Fat Lady’s protests as she was awoken from her beauty sleep, she waved her friends goodbye, most of whom- the boys and Mary, surprisingly- cheered, clapped and pumped their fists in the air; while Marlene wiped a fake tear off her cheek and Remus and Lily merely smiled- no doubt feeling really bad for her.

____

“See you on the other side!” she grinned, walking away.

____

“Yeah! That’s the spirit, baby!” Sirius whooped.

____

Pretending she didn’t hear him whisper to James ‘she won’t last an hour’, she turned the corner, first and foremost making her way to the Ravenclaw tower.

____


	4. Chapter 3: The Worst Dares Slash Bets In History- Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Part 2! Raise your hands if you wish Peeves had been in the movies

It had been five minutes since Lauren had been standing in front the Ravenclaw common room entrance, a door with an eagle-shaped knocker, in the tallest tower of the castle. And she was beyond pissed. More pissed off than she had ever been in her life. 

“What the bloody hell does that even _mean_?! How in the Merlin’s soggy pants am I supposed to know that?”

She was met with silence. Again. She was seconds away from tearing out her hair.

Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “Okay, give me another one.” She waited.

No reply.

“Look come on! I’m sorry I swore it was impolite of me.”

She waited for a few seconds but didn’t get a reply. Did enchanted knockers even have feelings? It didn't matter now, she supposed, she was probably not going to hear from it again. At least not today. Sighing, she turned to head back down the stairs when the knocker spoke again and she eagerly turned around.

“If a Reparo spell can be used to fix broken things, why can it not be used to fix broken wands?”

There was a pause. Was it being serious? “Wha- How am I supposed to know that?!” she indignantly shouted. Did 11-year old Ravenclaws have this sort of knowledge? Did this bloody knocker even know she was an 11-year old? 

She took it upon herself to inform it. Calmly. “I’m 11, you know. I haven’t studied that yet.”

Silence again.

“UGH!” she kicked the door out of frustration, then rushed back towards the wall in fear that a student or someone nearby might have heard her.

Deciding it was time she tried to explore something else, she turned back heading down the staircase.

She sighed, muttering dejectedly, “Can’t believe I climbed so many stairs for this.”

A 6th year Ravenclaw she had hesitantly approached in the girl’s toilet had been really nice and answered her curious questions- even told her where her common room was.  
She wished she had asked about the other houses too, because it would’ve been interesting to see how they were guarded. Did they have a dumb eagle knocker too? Or just a portrait of an irritable and nagging woman covering their entrance?

Turned out that the moving staircases were her worst enemy. She’d lost count of how many times she had tripped and stumbled and dramatically cried out “NO!!” when they started moving when she was only halfway up or down the stairs. She didn’t know which floor she was on by now. A good thing, however, was that while pondering on these thoughts of different entrances for different houses and how most students didn't know where each other's houses were located, she had come across some fully functional toilets she didn’t know existed. She always just ran up to the 4th floor when she had to go. After looking around she realized they were not a popular spot because they were situated out of the way in a dingy corridor so she wouldn't be surprised if most students didn't even know they existed. Which was a shame, because they were quite clean and pretty- with white ceramic tiles and bright white cubicles; mosaic paintings decorating one of the walls with moonlight from a window gleaming upon them, and the floor spotted with the reflections of different colours. She decided this could be a good hideout for one of those days when she wanted to be alone. 

Coming out and turning a few corners, she found herself in a corridor lined with different portraits. They were all sleeping, so she decided to tiptoe along the wall so they wouldn’t wake up and raise a ruckus. Thinking she was safe, she continued merrily on her way when she suddenly found herself drenched in cold water. Unfortunately, she shrieked quite loudly, so she had no choice but to make a dash for another floor, in case someone around had heard her.  
Finally stopping when she was two floors lower, she looked up in anger. “Peeves! Why did you do that?!”

The poltergeist cackled- quite loudly- and Lauren looked around in fear. “Ohh stupid girl! Didn’t even notice I was following her since half an hour!”

Lauren exhaled impatiently. Just what she needed- she was drenched and shivering, and here was a poltergeist so loud he could single-handedly wake up the entire school. “Peeves leave me alone” she tried to walk away from him. He followed, cackling loudly and purposely smacking the armored knights nearby as he did. “What’s your name?”

She frowned. That was almost a friendly thing to say for someone who was known to be a nuisance for everyone. “Lauren Clark, why-”

“Laury Laury drove a lorry crashed it in a quarry and then she was sorry!”

Ah. She should've known. “That doesn’t even make sense,” she sighed.

He blew a raspberry in response, and pelted her with peanuts. She had no time to wonder where he got peanuts from.

“Look Peeves, can you please go away? I’m trying not to get caught by Mr. Filch.”

That caught his attention. “Bah! Ol’ loony Filchie. He deserves a cold shower too. Do you know where he is?”

Lauren raised an eyebrow. “How about you stay by me? If we come across him you can give him- uh- a cold shower. I’ll even help you.” she smiled.

She was slightly surprised that he took the bait and agreed, looking quite solemn and determined. And with that, the duo set off to explore the castle further. He turned out to be quite an entertaining companion in fact, though a bit loud, he showed her the other two common rooms, the kitchens, a special broom cupboard on the third floor that was thrice the size of the usual ones, and he even gave away the spots of hidden trick stairs by attempting to- very obviously- make her step on them.

He soon got bored, though, and went off without a warning, singing about flooding the second floor bathrooms. 

Lauren felt lonely and scared now that her protection was gone, but continued on her exploration. She came across two huge eagle statues which seemed to be guarding something- she figured it to be the Headmaster’s office. About two hours went by just like that, but fatigue soon took over her and she decided sitting on the window sill of a large glass window in the 5th floor corridor was a good idea. Staring into the night bathed in moonlight, the vast grounds below, Hagrid’s hut in the distance, and the still lake nearby, she soon lost any sense of her surroundings.

“STUDENT OUT OF BED!” Lauren nearly jumped two feet in the air.

She turned around, “Oh. Hi Mr Filch.” she said tiredly.

“Troublesome kids these days! Out of bed 4 hours past curfew! Nasty little 11-year olds, wait till I get permission to give you a detention of my own!” he yelled, enraged.

Lauren was sure the ‘nasty little 11-year olds’ he was referring to was her, but she didn’t think she had the energy to give an equally enthusiastic response. She suddenly sat up, cooing at a small black cat walking around Mr Filch’s feet. “Awww Mrs Norris! You’re so big now! Aww you pretty little thing you were half your size when I saw you four days ago!” Mrs. Norris, wary at first, hesitantly stepped towards Lauren, who immediately began petting her.

“You- you like my cat?” Mr. Filch blinked.

“Of course!” she looked up at the frail old squib standing before her, heavily leaning on his cane. “You must be tired, why don’t you sit here Mr Filch?”

“Hah! Not likely! What are you doing out here, plotting your next prank? It was you who stashed Stink Pellets in the 2nd floor corridor, wasn’t it?”

“It wasn’t me Mr Filch,” she said distractedly, as she took out a wad of parchment from her robe pocket. She transfigured it into a ball of yarn, laying it in front of the cat who instantly began pawing and fiddling with it.

When she didn’t hear anything from the caretaker, she spoke up again. “I’m here because Peeves dumped water on me. I was drenched so I’m trying to dry m-”

“Peeves? That disgusting thing. I always say the dead should stay dead, they should! Where is he? He’s probably the one who threw the Stink Pellets!”

“Oh-uh..” Was he actually thinking of letting her go? Peeves was proving to be more helpful than she thought! “He said something about the second floor bathroo-”

“Mrs. Norris, lets go!” The cat stayed where she was, rolling on the floor tangled up in yarn.

It was suddenly silent, nobody knew what to do with a disobedient cat. Lauren stayed awkwardly kneeling by her, and Filch stood nearby.

“...I can take care of her?” Lauren offered.

“No! You students are more evil than vampires! Who knows what you’ll do to her!” he picked up Mrs. Norris in his hand- yelping as she scratched him a bit for taking her away from her toy.

Maybe it was because he hated Peeves more than he hated students, maybe it was because she had shown affection towards his pet. Maybe it was because she was probably the first student who’d called him ‘Mr’ and offered him a seat, or maybe it was because the guy was so old he had probably been friends with Jesus and so he’d forgotten she was breaking curfew. But he walked away hurriedly without a second glance at Lauren, his cane in one hand and his cat in the other.

And Lauren here was too sleepy and tired to realise her amazing luck, so she shrugged and went back to her place on the window sill. 

Winter was around the corner, so the temperature always dropped significantly at night. With the sky ever so slowly lightening up a bit, she decided to head down to the Kitchens for a mug of hot chocolate to have on the way back to the dorms.

Walking up to the Fat Lady she was all smiles, the hot chocolate woke her up a bit and she was quite satisfied with the night she had spent exploring and making ‘friends’. In fact she was dying to tell her housemates about all that she had discovered.

The moment she stepped through the portrait hole, however, she was met with disbelieving stares- Sirius and James particularly stood in front of the crowd, open-mouthed.

“Hey guys! Did you know there’s a kitchen near the Hufflepuff common rooms? Its run by house-elves!” she raised her mug and pointed at it, grinning.

“How-how have you not been caught?? Where’s your detention slip?” A bewildered Sirius asked.

“It’s not so hard like you guys were saying,” Lauren shrugged, “You must be really bad at running away.”

No-one said anything. Lauren yawned loudly and stretched her limbs. She looked around. “All of you are ready already? I’ve got to change, how about I meet you guys at breakfast?” Without a reply she dashed up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. No-one had expected this turn of events, they were convinced both Sirius and Lauren would definitely get detentions and that would be it. The possibility of Sirius losing was high now, and she had left behind a peculiar scene which consisted of her friends, some of whom were proud, some impressed, and one of them sweating buckets because it was his turn to do the impossible next.

\-------------x----------

Sirius looked pale. James clapped his shoulders firmly, “You’ve got this, mate.”

“I just don’t understand..everyone gets caught on their first time by either Filch or a prefect,” Sirius whispered, “She doesn’t even have an invisibility cloak like we do!” His eyes were wide and mouth agape.

He suddenly turned around. “James I don’t wanna be a slave! Save me, you’ve got to save me! I have my whole life left to live!”

Marlene groaned, “Can you enter the room already? You’re blocking the way, you pansy.”

“HEY! No name calling to my mate! Don’t listen to her Sirius” he hugged his friend.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Black! If you’re done may we all get inside the class now?” They jumped apart as the voice of Professor McGonagall made their way, their fellow classmates smirking as everyone scurried to their designated seats.

“Everyone to submit last week’s homework up here in the front. Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, if I receive another shabby work from you, I will have to grace you with a detention this Friday.”

The girls were grinning, surely Lauren had acquired herself a slave for the week. There was no way he was getting out of this. As a group, they made their way to the front and handed their essays one by one to McGonagall. All 10 of them collectively held their breath as Sirius handed his, heart thumping loudly in his chest. They stood still, waiting for the verdict to be announced.

Anti-climatically, she only gave his essay a thorough but quick once-over, nodded and turned towards other students handing theirs in. Confused, they hesitantly headed back to their seats, looking around at each other wondering what had just happened. James even had a ‘what the bloody hell just happened?’ face and Sirius looked relieved as he slumped on his seat with a huff.

And Lauren was beyond enraged.

“That’s it?!” she hissed, “I can’t believe it worked! She didn’t even check properly! Isn’t she supposed to be the strictest?! I haven’t slept for 24 hours and he won just like that?” 

Remus hesitantly interjected. “Well...can you really say he ‘won’ if you didn’t lose?”

“ _Shutup Remus!_ ” 

“Well. Congratulations. Both of you did all of this just to prove your bravery, it was definitely worth it,” Lily deadpanned.

James sat up. “Hell, I’ll acknowledge it. Lauren Clark I officially announce you’re welcome to join us boys in our adventures anytime.”

“Gee, thanks mate.” 

Sirius turned around in his chair to face the rest of the gang. “Well I don’t say this often but I’m definitely really impres-”

“Mr. Black!”

Every Gryffindor in the room went still again. Had she noticed his essay? Was he finally caught?

“Is there something interesting you’d like to share with the class?”

 _Yes?_ He hadn’t written enough words like they were supposed to and had tried to get away with it by using the most common and obvious technique ever? He had lied to her, and covered up his work with not even a clever plan, but big letters?

Sirius coughed. “Uh..no, Professor?”

Definitely getting a detention for submitting bad work and lying now. He'd definitely lost.

Or so Lauren hoped. All she could do was groan in utter disappointment when Professor McGonagall said her next words.

“Then turn around and face the front, please. 10 points off Gryffindor for talking during lessons.”

All the boys were grinning, and all the girls were rolling their eyes. All of it went unnoticed by her however. Turned out McGonagall didn’t have the sharpest eyes after all.

Lauren barely survived the rest of the day, in fact she was pretty sure she had dozed off during Divination. This whole dare and bets ordeal had turned out to be pretty fruitless, but as she walked back to the tower with her friends after dinner it was pretty obvious that it had branded her with a new impression. The boys were visibly impressed and began regarding her slightly higher than they used to; and although the girls tried to not let it show, Lauren noticed right away that they were doing their best to find out where exactly the Kitchens were. Marlene was less subtle, as she discreetly handed her a galleon with a wink.

Lauren smirked. One night had given her benefits for the rest of the years she would be spending in this castle, including hide-out spots, and friendship (if she could call it that) with two of the most formidable forces- Mr. Filch and Peeves. Two weeks later, when James and Sirius were dragged away by their ears to detention by Professor McGonagall for a recent prank they had pulled, no student paid any heed to their indignant shouts that it wasn't them this time, nor did anyone notice a small smile on Lauren's face as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked! I'm keeping things simple for the first year, get the story going. If you've got any prompts for me that you'd like to be included in this story, let me know and I'll see what I can do!


	5. Chapter 4: The Night We Won But Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out writing a story, especially on something that has already been written, is harder than I thought it would be. Hope you're not mad at me for not uploading last Monday, I had a severe writer's block. Hope this chapter makes up for it though! xx

It was wrong. All of it was wrong.

Darkness seemed to swallow the night and even the white orb of the sky refused to show its face. Hidden behind a sea of clouds, it offered no assistance to the vigilantes assembled below. Six members surrounded the derelict neighborhood, invisible to any curious eyes but ready to pounce on the action at any given moment- just like they were trained to do. Terror, fear, and anxiousness mixed with an ounce of heroic courage lingered in the air. Racing heartbeats drowned every individual’s hearing, but everything- the members, the creatures of the night and even the air- lay still, not daring to move.  
It felt like the whole world stood at a stop, and everyone waited with bated breaths, readying themselves, preparing themselves. 

And all of a sudden, the night moved like a hurricane. The neighborhood was enveloped in shouts and war cries, darkness was swallowed by flashes of light, and in place of terror and fear, it was the metallic smell of blood that hung in the air.

Lauren absentmindedly noted how in the midst of a fight, time would slow down and it seemed to take hours for a mere second to pass by, but in reality the whole ordeal would last for only a few minutes. The pain of injury and death would remain, however, both physical and mental, and it would haunt the survivors for weeks to come.

It was wrong.

All of them were occupied, not a single person stood idle, as the six of them danced like parts of the same machine- leaping, dodging, swaying, striking. Yells of different spells, some of them Lauren was not well-versed with, and some she had used multiple times herself, shattered the silence of the night, and she was glad it had some effect on the enemy lines. Alastor Moody yelled the loudest, he was a terrifying force on his own. The heart of the machine, he led his team without any hesitation, determination burning like fire in his eyes. They strode towards the middle, attacking the enemy on all sides. Sirius Black was completely in his element- one wouldn’t know he had been cracking jokes with Marlene and Lauren earlier, pretending to be nonchalant when they were making their way to this part of town. No one would think he was someone capable of joking about a suicide mission now, as his face was screwed up with hatred and disgust, intensely focused on his duels, easily winning with his precise wand movements and specific spells that he knew just when to use. Marlene McKinnon on the other hand, expertly handled her opponents with the accuracy of her spells. Though she was just as fierce as Moody himself, she was clever enough to catch them by surprise with her non-verbal spells. Benjy Fenwick and Emmaline Vance brought up the rear, defending and attacking with the best of teamwork, speaking volumes without saying a word, switching opponents and positions as if they’d rehearsed it a million times over. Lauren Clark, meanwhile, was just a back-up, officially, but that hardly meant she was going to stand by and attack only when she was meant to. She flicked and swirled her wand in whichever direction needed help, dodging and spinning, looking out for whichever side seemed close to succumbing. She attacked others’ opponents, she struck the cowardly ones staying at the back. She initiated duels, and quickly muttered healing charms on her comrades’ fresh wounds. 

And after all of that, they finally seemed to fall back, momentarily over-powered, and it seemed like all would go well, that all the members of the Order would go home safely after all, that they would finally see a hint of victory, that they would finally have some Death Eaters to interrogate and send off to prison where they belonged. 

But a battle was not easily won when one side had too much power. It could not be won without casualties and without a substantial amount of loss, if all the members could do was trip, stun, and disarm the enemy while the enemy itself could maim and kill. And so it began. Bursts of energy and adrenaline that had kept the warriors standing and fighting diminished when their comrades were struck with flashes of green and as life escaped from their eyes. The distinct sounds of their bodies hitting the cold hard floor echoed in their ears, and in that moment that had to become heartless and cold-blooded, much like their enemy, having to jump over their friends’ dead bodies to approach the enemy and continue duelling with them.

It was wrong.

This was what she hated the most about this war. There was no time. No time to feel, no time to mourn, no time to blink back tears or utter a short prayer. For she was already facing her next opponent, whom she had to defeat quickly because a a stupefied one was already regaining consciousness. Amidst all of this she had to strain to keep her emotions down, to repress a scream of agony bubbling in her throat, to keep the shroud of red hot rage from enveloping her whole. With four of them remaining standing, and eight of the Death Eaters swirling and swishing their wands left and right, it seemed like they would not be seeing the next sunrise again. All hope seemed lost, and Lauren stepped back a bit to quickly catch her breath when she caught a glimpse of her friend’s lifeless body again. 

Marlene’s lifeless body. 

But there was no time to mourn, or in her case, break down and cry for hours over another precious friend lost, so she temporarily dispelled her misery and torment in the form of a strangled war cry and proceeded to wade into battle again, casting all the offensive spells she could think of. Her movements were filled with purpose, they were sharp, they were energised and she was blinded. She couldn’t see or hear or feel or sense anything, only that her best friend was gone and so was Benjy and the person right in front of her was the cause. She yelled, she screamed, she roared, she wailed. Even if they somehow won tonight they had lost, and the loss of this night would keep her up for nights, wake her up in cold sweat, stab her with pangs of lament and sorrow, and she would never be able to live it down. Her veins burned in fury and she desperately wished she could make all the followers of Voldemort feel the same torture that she was currently feeling. 

Sirius looked towards her with worry for a second, he hadn’t seen her face or expressions or noted what she was going through during the battle but standing a bit front of her, he could sense troubled feelings emanating from her. It was her first time witnessing death, and he remembered all too clearly how his own first time had been. He didn’t notice, though, that while he was looking at her, his opponent, Wilkes, behind him had begun uttering the first syllable of a spell that would be the end of him. Sirius didn’t notice his wand drawn out, pointing straight towards Sirius’ back. He didn’t notice the murdering intent in his enemy’s eyes, his cruel smirk as he continued to complete the incantation. 

But she did. 

There were three components of a spell. Lauren knew the incantation and the wand movements, and for the first time, she had the intention. Her eyes shone with the same murdering intent, her face twisted in rage and resentment. The lump of pain lodged in her throat finally broke free. It was wrong, all of it was wrong. So wrong. But there was no way she was losing another person precious to her tonight. There was no way she was letting them win, letting them get away with the murder of her friend, while they got to laugh and revel in their victory without any remorse tonight.

It seemed to happen in slow-motion, like the world seemed to still again with the sight of something that nobody had expected to happen. 

“ _Avada Kedavra_!” Lauren growled, quick as lightning, and a flash of green escaping from her wand. She trembled with rage, her actions tainting her with a feeling of impurity, but she relished the detached feeling of satisfaction when she watched Wilkes fall to the ground, unspoken words still stuck on his tongue, his dead eyes still widened in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its a bit shorter than the previous ones, but still important to the story! Ill update again this week, pinky promise. As always, thanks so much for the support! Your comments in the previous chapter literally made me keep going. So much love to you! <3


	6. Chapter 5: Quidditch, Exams and Other Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're onto third year in the next chapter! Woohoo!

Lauren grunted loudly with clenched teeth, struggling to push herself up off the ground with shaky arms. “This is all your fault, Black.”

“I saw potential and I recruited it. Sue me.” he replied haughtily.

James prepared himself to go down again. “Its for the better, Clark,” he panted, “Quidditch is the best thing ever, you won’t regret it.”

“Why are we even doing this, though? You’d think the hundreds of stairs in this damn school were enough exercise.”

“Clark, do you _know_ how much of a competition we’ve got?! Nobody gives a rat’s arse about second years when there’s so many skilled seniors.”

Her arms gave out and she landed with a ‘oof’ on the muddy ground. Laying there face-down, unmoving, she replied, “But a whole summer of playing it in James’ backyard should be enough practice, no?” She sounded desperate, almost whiny, and she hated it. She loved flying, but all this exercise was making her regret agreeing to Sirius’ proposition of going for the try-outs together.

James pushed her over so she laid facing the sky now, prodding her to start doing sit-ups. “Bloody hell, no. We didn’t have any bludgers or a snitch, that was hardly any good practice at all.” 

She sat up with a start. “What?!” she glanced from one face to another, appalled, “Then why did you make me come over everyday and insist we play all day?!”

Sirius shrugged, doing squats with exaggerated grunts and movements. “Remus was- UNGH- sick all summer, and Peter’s mum- UNGH- didn’t allow him to come over.”

“So I was just your replacement buddy? I’m genuinely hurt.”

“Yeah but wasn’t it fun?” James grinned.

“Don’t worry, though,” Sirius chimed in, smirking when he squatted and was face-to-face with Lauren, “even Hooch was impressed with your flying, and thanks to us,” he put an arm around James, “you’ve had enough training to be able to join the team now. Thank me later when you realise you owe me so much for getting you into the best sport ever.”

“ _Football_ is the best sport ever.”

James gasped loudly. Wide eyes and open-mouthed, both of them stared at her in horror, “Traitor!”

Lauren rolled her eyes and smirked, “A’right, lets go. Last one to finish has to get us snacks from the Kitchens after we’re done.”

She set off as soon as she said it, Merlin knew she could use a head-start when competing with them. It was in vain, however, because Sirius’ lanky form caught up with her halfway through the second lap around the quidditch grounds, and James managed to beat her at the last minute.

She was getting better though, and secretly she couldn’t wait for the try-outs next week. Yes, Hogwarts was fun and the world of magic and wizardry was absolutely mind-blowing, but she was convinced she hadn’t experienced the best of it until she had tried her hand at Quidditch.

Panting hard and sweating profusely, the trio finally ended their workout session and headed up the endless number of stairs to the Gryffindor tower- which was another workout in itself.

Sure, they teased her non-stop at the beginning for losing, but they soon got bored and began discussing their next prank as they bounced up the stairs ahead of Lauren. It was the same staircase as the one on The Broken Ankle Day, and she was reminded of when she’d seen Sirius in his sincerest form. For the nth time, she wondered if she’d gone too far with her explanation of the Black family and their ideologies. He hadn’t seemed to mind that much, obviously he would have stopped talking to her if he did- but when she recalled accidentally coming upon him sitting alone in the Common Room a few months ago when they had been first years, receiving a bright red howler from a very pristine looking owl, and overhearing harsh words spoken by his own mother, she felt stabs of regret.

She could only imagine how much harsher his mother’s words and actions must have been when he sneaked out of his house everyday to spend the summer with his half-blood and blood-traitor friends. And then she wondered if she could have been as bold and brave as he was, had she been in his position.

“You look thoughtful..for once,” Mary interrupted her thoughts that she’d been pondering over as she lay in her four-poster bed. It wasn’t nearly time to sleep yet, most students were still down at the Common Room chatting and finishing up their homework. After a cold refreshing shower, Lauren hadn’t felt like going down again. 

She lifted her head, peeping at Mary across the room. “Can I copy your Charms essay later?”

Mary rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation, “Sure..”.

Lauren smiled fondly, shaking her head and laying it back on her bed again. It already felt like a faint memory, but she was certain she’d seen bruises on Sirius’ arms back when they’d returned from home after Christmas holidays. It was just a fleeting glimpse, but he had uncharacteristically worn his sleeves down for a few days, buttoned and not bunched at his elbows. For the first time back then, his shirt was entirely buttoned as well, she’d thought he was making a comedic fashion statement, but now she wondered if he’d been hiding more underneath. For the first time, she appreciated her parents and the home she came from, but was it possible some of the others were hiding their monsters as well? Did Remus perhaps have a chronic illness that he hadn’t spoken of or did Mary come from a troubled home too?

She was hardly every serious around her friends and joked about everything but in the darkness only slightly illuminated by Mary’s reading lamp, she whispered, “Hey Mary?”

“Hmm?”

“If something happens to you, promise you’ll tell me about it?”

It was silent for a few seconds, Lauren only heard two sets of breathing. And then the silence was shattered by Mary’s shriek.

“Bloody hell Lauren! I’m gonna kill you!”

Lauren whipped up her head in shock, this was _not_ what she’d expected to hear, “What?!”

“Did you put toothpaste in my shampoo again?!”

Lauren sputtered, “N-No! Well yeah...but that’s not what I’m talking about right now! I’m being serious Mary,” she huffed.

“Listen here you li’l muffin head dodo, you’re going to regre-”

Lauren sat up. “Mary,” she said earnestly, “if anything happens, promise you’ll tell me. I won’t judge you, I won’t make fun of you. But promise you’ll tell me.”

Sensing Lauren wasn’t joking around- which Mary definitely wasn’t used to- and feeling a little moved but mostly confused, she replied, “Erm- yeah, sure.”

Satisfied, Lauren laid back down in exhaustion and promptly went to sleep.

Over the next few days, she subtly tried to have a similar conversation with almost all of her friends- when they were alone, of course. 

James sighed melodramatically and wrapped an arm around her shoulders (which was a bit awkward because he was still shorter than her right now), looking into the distance, “Something _has_ happened to me, Clark. Just deep deep love. An abysmal amount of emotions and this illness of lov-”

“Christ, I’m sorry I even bothered. Let go of me.”

James gasped, “Oh but you made me promise! I gotta tell you Clark I think its her hair, its just so shiny and brigh- HEY COME BACK HERE!”

While Dorcas and Lily had smiled gratefully and given her a hug, Marlene on the other hand had choked on her spit and snorted loudly, “Did you fall down the stairs, mate?”

“My _god_ , I’m being _serious_.”

”I’m someone you have to least worry about and you know it,” she rolled her eyes, “I can kick your arse to prove it if you’d like.”

While their reactions were expected, Remus’ was not.

He glanced around uncomfortably even though they were the only ones in the corridor, returning from the library. “How- how much do you know?”

“What?” Lauren frowned.

“Oh Merlin, you know, don’t you?” he seemed to panic, “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“I’m- I’m actually surprised that _you_ know,” Lauren replied in confusion. He was talking about Sirius, right? “It didn’t look like he told anyone..”

Now Remus frowned. “What?”

“....What?”

They were both frowning in confusion, and it was clear the conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Remus took the opportunity and hurried away, leaving behind Lauren who stared at his retreating back in confusion.

Maybe she was right. There was another secret being hidden away, something no one knew. No one but Remus. And she intended to find out what it was.

\---------------x-------------

For the next few weeks it wasn’t an uncommon sight for all the second-year Gryffindors to be missing dinner and instead be secretly out in the grounds, preparing for the upcoming try-outs. While James, Sirius and Lauren toiled away with push-ups, sit-ups and all other kinds of ups, Mary and Dorcas gossiped about the latest Celestina Warbeck song, lazily laid out on dry patches of grass. Meanwhile Remus, Peter and Lily cheered their friends and kept counts in case they started competing against one another, and Marlene was more than happy to be breaking the rules and sneaking some dinner for all of them from the Kitchens. 

They were the best days of everyone’s lives, when studies were at a minimal and most of them were ahead of class anyway, they had more than enough time at their hands to hang out in the common room even after their workout sessions, and still a lot of energy left to explore the castle some more. Of course, this was where the boys and the girls separated ways. The boys went off to set up their pranks, while Lauren acted as a guide and showed around the interesting little things she’d found to the girls.

Marlene yawned. “Have you girls noticed the boys seem really close this year? Wonder what happened.”

Lily shrugged, “Maybe its just because they’ve known each other for a year so they’re closer to each other now- Pumpkin Pasties,” the portrait hole swung open, “we’re much closer this year too, after all.”

Lauren yawned too as the girls climbed the stairs to their dorm, “No, I’ve noticed too...almost like they’ve planned to do something together...did you notice how they just wouldn’t let us join for their prank today?”

“Bet its just a boys-only sleepover or something. Who knows,” Dorcas added, “Maybe we should do our own sleepover too, eh?”

Marlene exchanged looks with Lauren. It didn’t seem like something as normal as a sleepover. They were acting odd and something definitely seemed off. Marlene had often spotted them whispering to each other recently and heading off somewhere looking like they had a mission in mind, and Lauren had noticed how the four of them were just about inseparable this year. In fact, she doubted she’d seen Remus or Sirius anywhere alone lately. But they decided to let it go and not pursue the topic anymore. After all, what the boys did these days was none of their business.

\------x-------

Although she’d successfully asked everyone (except Sirius, of course) to confide in her when they felt burdened by anything- and by successfully she meant no-one finding out she’d asked this to everyone (she’d have never been able to live it down if they found out and began teasing her for being a softie), she realised there was a big problem in doing that when they were discussing their end of year exams.

It was exam week, the _best_ time for someone to tell her about the stress or pressure they were going through, but turned out her brutally honest personality wasn’t really an encouragement for them to do so.

When Lauren returned to the dorms after defeating Peter in wizard chess, her smile slid off her face when she saw Dorcas was crying and all the other girls were surrounding her, offering consoling words.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, eyebrows raised high up into her hairline.

Dorcas didn’t say anything, she only cried harder.

Lily sighed, “Dorcas thinks she’s gonna get a P in Potions.” She glances desperately towards Lauren, hoping maybe she’d be able to comfort Dorcas.

“Oh..did your practicals not go well today?

Dorcas sniffed, wiped her nose and nodded. 

“What did you get wrong?” Lauren asked matter-of-factedly, ignoring Lily’s warning looks.

“It was just awful! My Sleeping Drought wasn’t even the colour it was supposed to be, it was way far-off! And I couldn’t remember the word for bezoar!”

Marlene spoke up, “To be fair, that identify the bezoar thing was a first-year question. Sluggy tried to be tricky today.”

Lauren hummed. “That’ll lose you a lot of marks.”

All the others looked up in shock. Lily even hissed, “Lauren!” Dorcas just looked surprised, her crying momentarily paused.

“What?” she looked at Lily. “I’m just saying the truth.” 

Marlene whistled, “That’s harsh.”

Lauren shrugged. “You can still get an A if you do well in your theory. Hell, you might even get an E if you nail it.”

Dorcas widened her eyes, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Lauren looked around, “When’s Potions theory again?”

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed in mock disgust, “Honestly, you’ve been spending too much time with Black and Potter these days. How do you not know our exam schedule?!”

Mary snickered. “Next Thursday.”

Lauren nodded, “Gives us plenty of time to revise Potions at least three times over, don’t you think?”

While freshening up and changing her clothes in the bathroom before she went back to the girls who had already begun helping Dorcas study, it crossed Lauren’s mind again that perhaps she hadn’t handled it as politely or nicely as she should have. But seeing Dorcas determinedly going through her notes and Lily flashing a grateful smile towards her she realised that sometimes pure honesty was the best way to go. It might have seemed harsh to her as well as the nearby spectators, but it was probably refreshing for Dorcas and Sirius to hear and they might have even appreciated her approach. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t stopped talking to her afterwards. Maybe that’s why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I disagree, I think watching cricket is more fun, but what do I know lol


	7. Chapter 6: Express Drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late AGAINN. If anyone was actually waiting for the update, I'm really sorry! But I've already written 2 more chapters which should help regulate the updates from now on. Hope you like this chapter because its one of my favorites so far! <3

“Calm down, now Laur, you don’t want to be meeting your friends after months with a scowl on your face, do you?” Mrs. Clark said, worriedly trying to make sure her daughter was alright.

“I just hate that I can’t do anything to him! Damn this magic secrecy law.” Lauren complained as softly as she could, “He keeps thinking I’m weak and weird, only if he knew what I could do to him with just some words and a flick of my wand!”

“Are you really going to bully the bully then, Laur? I can assure you that’s not gonna solve anything.”

Lauren looked up at her mother’s clipped tone, “Well, its not like I was gonna actually do anything...it would just be nice if he _knew_ I could..”

Mr. Clark rolled her eyes. “That argument is so dumb I’d rather not bother responding to it.”

“ _Mum!_ ”

“You have such a good life, Laur. Genuine friends and amazing teachers. Do you really want to still waste your energy on someone who’s not going to matter in your life for the most part?

“Fine..you’re right,” Lauren huffed, as Mrs. Clark spotted the Pettigrews and waved them over. “But if I see a wizard or a witch being an arsehole I swear I’m unleashing all my magic on them,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Hey Lauren!” Peter greeted and once again, Lauren was taken aback by how she was blessed with such handsome male housemates. Was this only a wizard thing? Because boys back at home sure didn’t look this good. At only 13, while each boy had their own charm- James as an expert at humour and his boy-next-door looks, Remus as a studiously innocent and charming looking fellow, and Sirius just born with the prince-ly looks (that he so badly tried to cover up with shabby uniform and dirty sneakers) - Peter exuded his own boyish handsomeness. He had mousy features and was more bulky while his friends were more lanky, but every girl her age would agree that his form along with his bunny teeth made him look even cuter.

Not that she liked him or anything. He was just a brother she never had.

After greeting his mum and doing the special handshake she’d taught Peter last year, the party settled into the usual conversation which consisted of:   
“oh I get worried every time I have to drop off my little boy for school”  
“same here Ingrid, our kids have grown up so much can you believe it”  
“ugh here they go again”  
“wish I could go back in time and set up a prank as distraction from this humiliating conversation”. 

Some moments later, while they were discussing the new Cleansweep model they’d seen in Diagon Alley (Peter loved flying, he just wasn’t really interested in Quidditch), Peter spotted the Blacks at a distance and pointed them out for Lauren. Excited, she was about to wave him over as well but stopped short when she realised Mrs. Black wasn’t bidding Sirius goodbye with emotional parting words; instead she stood beside him with a tight grip on his arm and a sneer on her face while her younger son Regulus looked around uneasily.

She didn’t know for sure but she could guess it was about his own personal family matter again. Until he was willing to share his troubles with her or she was in a position where she knew more and held enough power to enlighten his parents with some of her honest thoughts, she decided not to do anything about it. Better yet, for his sake, she decided to pretend not to know anything about it.

That’s when she noticed something. James stood a bit away with his parents, they were fussing over his hair and his suitcase, but his attention was definitely on his friend and his family. What Lauren was surprised to note was that instead of a look of shock or maybe even confusion that she expected to see on his face, she only saw rage and bitterness.

So he knew.

Looking at Peter who had apparently decided to unsee the scenario and was now trying to distract Lauren with talks of holiday homework and some Hufflepuff bloke instead, it seemed like he did too.

And Lauren was happy with that. She couldn’t do anything but at least his close friends were there with him to lighten his burden and help him through it all. 

As the clock ticked closer to eleven and as the train whistled in preparation for its departure- Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Pettigrew deciding to meet up over tea some time during the week- all the students boarded the train, bidding farewell to their parents until they saw each other again for Christmas.

While on the platform every student was like a heavenly angel bestowed with manners and innocence by the Almighty Jesus himself, inside the train- well inside the train it was a different story.

“What the fuck Crabbe, watch it you fat git!”

“Well don’t block the way then, you twat!”

“How in the fuck am I blocking the way for you, you’re literally 4 times my size, you moron-”

Philip Jordan meanwhile took it upon himself to broadcast this situation to the people of the train.

“Blackhole coming through ladies and gents! Hide yo’ snacks, hide yo’ lunch! Oh and stay out of the corridor, unless you’d like to become human squash!”

Lily exhaled tiredly as she stumbled into the compartment, shutting the door and leaning against it. “Don’t step out, girls. Its chaos out there.”

She snapped her eyes open when an obviously fake high pitched voice made its way to her ears. “Oh don’t worry lilykins, we’re here to stay!”

She looked around at her dorm-mates (more like death-glared, as Marlene would say) who shot her sheepish smiles and wary looks. “What are the boys doing here?” she deadpanned.

Dorcas shrugged, “They just barged in! We told them there wasn’t enough room but,” she waved her hand towards the seat opposite from hers, where Remus was sitting on James’ lap, “they obviously already had a solution in mind..”

“Join us, Lily dear!” James chimed in, “I’d offer a seat but mine’s taken.” He talked with exaggerated remorse in his tone.

Remus took the hint and got up, shifting to Sirius’ lap instead.

“Oh look, now its free!” He beamed from ear to ear, tapping his lap.

Lily shot him a disgusted look and both Mary and Lauren grimaced in anticipation of her insults. “I’d rather spend the whole ride sitting on a toilet seat- in fact I’d pay to spend the whole ride on a toilet seat rather than sit on _your_ lap.” 

Sirius ooooh’d and offered a comforting pat on James’ shoulder who looked absolutely miffed- he couldn’t figure out why his well-prepared lines hadn’t worked this time.

Lauren cleared her throat from her seat near the window after she had commanded her bishop to move to E5 on the chess board. “If I may,” she looked at James, “I told you it wouldn’t work, mate.”

Lily gaped at Lauren, feeling betrayed, “You’ve been helping him and giving him advice?!”

“Please,” Lauren scoffed, “My advice would have never been this shitty.” Peter snickered at her remark while playing the next move on his chess board. 

“Well..since there isn’t enough space for everyone here,” Lily changed the topic, nodding towards Remus, “why don’t you boys get a move on?”

“No can do, flower. Like I said, we’re here to stay!” Sirius grinned.

“Yeah..part of it is my fault..” Lauren mumbled, “James promised he’d help me with the Charms holiday homework if I let the gang in.”

If possible, Lily felt even more betrayed. “You sold our seats for _his_ help?!” she began outrageously, “HE COPIES EVERYTHING FROM REMUS!”

James interjected, “Not always!-”

“And why his help? Why didn’t you come to me?!”

Now Lauren looked extremely nervous, put on the spot like that. Thinking up of a lie would have been better but she cursed her dumb brain for being useless when needed.

She sheepishly rubbed her neck, “Well..you always scold me for not knowing something..”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren noticed Mary nod solemnly.

“No I don’t!” Offended, Lily looked around for support.

“Well..” Peter started hesitantly, “You went off on me last year for not knowing the difference between Petrificus Totalum and Protego Totalus.”

“For god’s sake, Peter, its Petrificus _Totalus_ and Protego _Totalum_ ,” Lily said irritably.

“...My point exactly,” Peter said pointedly.

“And you got barking mad when I asked you why I couldn’t just use Wingardium Leviosa to levitate the entire castle off the ground.” Sirius added.

“Oh and lets not forget that legendary Christmas lecture you gave me for not knowing why we can’t just produce food from a spell.” Mary spoke.

“Lilikins you really went off on me last year too, saying I didn’t know the difference between chivalry and sexism.”

“Not now, James!” groaned a chorus of replies.

Lauren coughed awkwardly. “Well yeah..that’s why I thought maybe it would be easier asking James instead..” Lauren said, deciding to stop the volleys of complains coming from her friends before Lily went any more red in the face, “It’s okay though! If he’s as useless as I think he’s going to be, promise I’ll come to you.” She made a heart with her hands for her and smiled.

After much consoling and attempts to change the topic and distract Lily with games or talks of the summer holidays, the conversation finally turned jovial and cheery instead, and the third-year Gryffindors barely realised that the whole journey had passed and it was time now to change into their robes. 

Shortly into the journey, the power of prefects had come through and the corridors had become peaceful again, much to the happiness of the trolley witch who finally went ahead with her business, advertising her sweets and snacks throughout the express.

Remus had immediately perked up at the sound of the trolley approaching, but Lauren had gotten up first. “That’s okay, Remus, I’ll go. Couldn’t eat breakfast,” she announced, searching for her purse amidst the sea of chocolate frog wrappers, abandoned shoes and bags, and card games on the floor, “Anyone want anything?”

Trying to remember the foot-long list of orders everyone instructed her with, she had headed out of the compartment, forgetting to close the door properly- something that was about to cost her dearly once she came back.

A Ravenclaw boy her year stood near the trolley, in the middle of a purchase. Victor Davies, she thought his name was, but she wasn’t sure so she just went with a “Hey there!”

He whipped his head at her direction, eyes widened in surprise. “H-hey, Clark.”

Lauren smiled, eyeing the food he held in his hands, “Here for the Cauldron Cakes too, are you?”

She listed off her order to the trolley witch when she cleared her throat with impatience.

Victor didn’t notice her though. “Y-yeah..Cauldron Cakes are really delicious, aren’t they?”

Lauren smiled and hmmed distractedly, more focused on telling the witch to give her the bigger ones of the batch so she wouldn’t be cheated by getting a cake smaller than what she paid for. Davies stood nearby, desperately looking for something to talk to her about.

He cleared his throat, “So- uh..I’m in your class for Charms, you were really good at casting the body-bind curse.”

Ohh so _that’s_ where she knew him from! He always sat in the front so she’d only seen his back until now. The only other place she remembered seeing him was...

“Oh! Didn’t you try-out for Quidditch last year? You’re their new seeker, aren’t you? Congratulations!”

Victor seemed to stutter even more than before and Lauren momentarily thought that she’d startled him by her outburst. 

“W-wow y-you know about that! Thank you! Congrats for getting into your team, as well. You were really good at practice as well.”

Lauren snickered, “Now you’re just being polite. I’m just a reserve until further notice. Didn’t even get to play last year.” she shrugged, trying to play it off coolly.

“No!” Victor suddenly shouted, and Lauren jumped. “You really are really good! I’m sure once they let you play they’ll see they’re wasting their star player by making you a reserve!”

She didn’t know how to react to this enthusiastic response from someone she’d only just actually met, but nevertheless she was really flattered and decided he was a nice person. “Well..thanks, Davies, that’s really nice of you.” she smiled.

He smiled back, “Call me William, I’d say we’re on a first-name basis by now.”

Oh. His name was William. 

Boy, was she glad she’d gone with ‘Hey there’.

She shook his outstretched hand. “Lauren.” she smiled.

The trolley witch had finished packaging all the food that Lauren had ordered and had long gone by now. Lauren didn’t know how to lead the conversation because while she wanted to be done and go back to her friends and just eat, Vic- William seemed to want to continue talking.

His smile slowly disappeared from his face and it looked like he had something important to say. “So Lauren- um.. y’know we’ve got a Hogsmeade trip coming up soon this year..would you maybe- do you want- would you want to go with me..maybe?”

 _That_ took Lauren by surprise. “ _Oh_..uh..-”

“Just for a little bit!” he interjected, “Maybe an hour or something..we can go back to our friends afterwards if you want.”

Lauren wasn’t gonna lie, this was the first time a boy had asked her out, or even remotely expressed their liking towards her. The only sort of boys she’d encountered in her life so far had been, in order- bullies, clowns, friends, and brothers. 

If she were being honest, she hadn’t even given a thought to the prospect of finding a boyfriend in school, or Hogsmeade being something as a dating opportunity rather than just an opportunity to replenish stationary supplies and stock up on snacks. But before she got carried away by her thoughts and already labeling William as her boyfriend when they’d only just met, she decided he was actually kind of cute, and no harm would be done if she gave this a try.

“...understand if you don’t want, I mean, I won’t force you of course, its just that I’ve liked you for a while and I thought-”

“Yes.”

“-W-what?”

“Yes, I’ll go with you. I mean, why not, right? It might even be fun!”

“Wow y-yeah, yeah! I’ll make sure its fun!”

She grinned. “Alright, I’ll look forward to it then. See you back at the castle later?”

He nodded hurriedly and Lauren smiled again. She was liking him more by the minute. He seemed really polite and genuine too, and it was no surprise to her when the smile was still on her face when she reached her compartment and slid inside.

Of course, the smile flew off her face instantly when she collided head-first with Sirius, who stood so close to the door that if she didn’t know any better she’d think he’d been glued to it.

Before she could even get a word in, a large smirk plastered itself on his face. He crossed his arms, leaning with one shoulder against the door next to her. 

“Star player, huh?”

“Bugger off, Black.”

His grin widened. “Cauldron Cakes are really delicious, they are.” 

She rolled her eyes, rushing over towards her seat.

James tutted, “Fraternising with the enemy, eh, Clark? He’s the Ravenclaw seeker!”

“But Davies is a nice guy-”

Marlene butted in, “Oh but call him William! I’d say you both are on first-name basis by now, Laur.” she smiled evilly.

Sirius grinned so hard it looked his face would tear, “And the chap bagged a Hogsmeade date at that! And we’re not even at the castle yet!”

Lauren groaned, “Its not a date, you guys, sod off and stop bugging me about it.”

But it didn’t seem like anyone could hear her. “Can you fucking believe it, James, mate? O’l Willy is way ahead of us and we haven’t even got dates yet!”

James nodded in response, “Can’t have that, can we?” 

He turned to Lily, who had been watching the exchange silently. “Lily, will you-”

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know you can bookmark this story so you don't forget to come back to it for the next chapter? Just sayin ;)


	8. Chapter 7: And So Third Year Begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, another one of my favourite chapters! But I probably just keep saying that because the story is finally picking up the pace as opposed to the previous chapters which were basically an introduction to the characters and their upbringing. Hope some of my readers didn't stop reading because of those chapters lol it gets more interesting from now on!
> 
> A big thanks to Michelle for always giving me feedback! Much appreciated <3

Now as they waited for the first-years to be sorted, Lauren soon fell into the monotony of clapping every time a Gryffindor was sorted, and tuned out Sirius and James who were seated nearby, discussing among each other and sorting each kid among themselves and exchanging galleons when one of them got it right (and flicking each other on the temple when they got it wrong).

Remus had already dozed off, he had stayed relatively quiet throughout the train ride so Lauren figured he must be tired. Peter just anxiously played with the cutlery in wait of dinner.

Mary and Marlene held their own sorting sessions, except they were sorting the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher instead and having a rather intense discussion about it. 

Lily and Dorcas enthusiastically welcomed the new Gryffindors, memorising their names so they could talk to them later to help them settle easily into the routine and the workings of the castle.

Meanwhile Lauren was still at cloud nine, and Sirius would hastily look away every time he happened to glance at her dreamy expression. It was pathetic, she didn’t even know the bloke and was already going crazy about him. If he were being honest, he hadn’t pegged her to be just like the other girls. Lauren played Quidditch, was upfront about her thoughts and feelings, wasn’t afraid to get into a fight, and broke the rules so often she might as well be one of the Marauders.

He glanced at her again. So why was she being so giddy over a _boy_ right now?!

Lauren snapped out of her day-dreaming when a hand smacked right on her dinner plate.

“Oops, my hand slipped,” said Sirius.

She smiled. “That’s okay,” she said, not noticing his frown when she brought her attention to Dumbledore who was just standing up for his start of the year speech.

Of course, he introduced the new D.A.D.A teacher first and then went on to list the rules Lauren was pretty sure Filch harassed him every year to enforce, and she heard Dorcas snicker at the four boys repeating his speech word for word silently along with him- and it was no surprise, really. She even noticed most of the seniors mouthing along the words the entire school had memorised by now. Midway through his speech, when he arrived at his signature “the forbidden forest is forbidden” line, she thought she saw his twinkling eyes linger at the boys sitting across from her for a bit too long, but the moment passed all too quick, and he soon ended his speech with “Lemon sherbet! Gillyweed! Tinker! All right, now let’s tuck in!”

Third year in this school and she still couldn’t decide whether Dumbledore was completely off in the head or not. But these unnecessary thoughts soon vanished when the feast magically appeared on the dinner table, and she focused on loading up her plate with everything. 

When she’d had enough food to satiate her hunger, she finally tuned in on the conversation on the table. She caught nervous whispers from first-years sitting nearby and 5th years Alice Fortescue and Frank Longbottom discussing their prefect duties and how they were going to distribute their workload between each other this year. She briefly wondered how she’d never expected relationships out of her life in Hogwarts when she was basically surrounded by couples- especially when Alice and Frank showed a lot of promise. If there was any couple in a relationship she wished she had, it would be them. Ultimate badasses among their batch, studied together in the library, kept the PDA at a minimum, always scored top of their class, defended each other from jobless gossipers and trouble-makers, and now were prefects seemingly all about business but anyone with eyes could see the respect and love they held for each other.

That reminded her, she wanted to go and see Hagrid since she hadn’t been able to greet him yet, and it was likely that everyone would be in their dorms by the time she’d return and as a result she’d miss the new password for the Common Room.

“Hey Frank, what’s the password?”

He turned his head from where he was fully focused on what Alice was saying. He noticed Lauren speaking to him and flashed her a quick smile. “David Gilmour.” 

“Mate its me, Lauren, remember?”

He grinned. “David Gilmour is the password. Y’know, from Pink Floyd.” she could just about point out his eyes lighting up with excitement.

She snickered, “I know who David Gilmour is, Frank, I’m basically a muggleborn in a half-blood’s body,” she rolled her eyes, “my question is- isn’t the password usually some magical jargon?”

Frank bounced excitedly in his seat, and Lauren tried to fight off a laugh when she noticed Alice rolling her eyes behind him. “That’s the thing, McGonagall let us decide on a password for the first month, so we thought why waste it? Why not name it after the absolute legend ever born?”

Alice chimed in, “We almost broke up over this during the holidays, Laur. Trust me, you do _not_ want to know.”

“She doesn’t agree David Gilmour is the best.”

Alice rolled her eyes again, but this time it was all for Frank to see. “ _Bee Gees_ are the absolute best. This was the one chance we had to set the password and Barry Gibb deserves much more respect!”

“ _Barry Gibb?!_ Oh come on that bloke looks like a girl, I tell you!”

”Frank Longbottom _how dare yo-_ ”

“Wait, time-out” Lauren interrupted, “..are the teachers okay with the password being a famous name?”

Frank, relieved at the distraction and diffusion of the situation, shot Lauren a thankful look and grinned cheekily. “Most half-bloods and pure-bloods will probably think its a spell we haven’t learnt yet, to be honest. I’m telling ya, most of them are dimwits.”

Alice shrugged, “I agreed because I realized it could be a cool inside-secret among the muggleborns.”

“...you both know none of you are muggleborns, yeah? You’re both half-bloods!”

“Since I was raised with quality music and not utter shit like Celestina Warbeck, I’ll proudly consider myself a muggleborn.”

“Amen to that,” Alice nodded.

“Excuse me but Bee Gees is not quality music.” Frank responded.

“Frank you _better mind your fuc-_ ”

“Woah, hey!” a new voice joined the conversation, “Couldn’t help but hear Celestina Warbeck being called shit and hence I’d like to insert myself into this conversation to voice out my opinion of the best music being produced by-”

Lauren listened eagerly. She was sure a cool guy like James would have great music recommendations and was already preparing to note them down in her head to buy their CD’s when she went home. 

“- The Hobgoblins. Hands down, the best musicians ever.” James nodded seriously.

It was silent at the table for a moment. Lauren didn’t know how long, but she definitely thought she heard crickets in the distance.

But then Alice and couldn’t take it anymore and shot him a harassed look.

“ _Are you fucking joking?_ ” she burst out. Lauren nearly choked on her spit. She couldn’t believe it. Absolutely couldn’t believe it. James Potter. _The_ James Potter listened to The Hobgoblins?! 

She knew Lily had been listening to the conversation the whole time when she spat out her pumpkin juice and guffawed loudly.

Frank shook his head sadly, patting James on the back before standing up and helping Alice off her seat as well, “We’ve got to go for duty but Lauren dear, help a lad out, will ya? Introduce him to good music for me, will you, please? James here is being utterly embarrassing.”

She smirked and gave him a mock salute, “Will do, sir.”

James blinked. “..What?” he looked at Lily and Lauren, “The Hobgoblins sang ‘Sod off you Merlin’s Soggy Socks’ and ‘You’re The Bludger to my Broomstick’! Those are the hits of the decade!”

Lily laughed even louder at that, wheezing and gasping for breath.

Lauren tried to maintain as much composure as she could, calmly instructing the boys (Sirius and Peter had begun listening in when Lily’s pumpkin juice sprayed all over their dinner plates), “Since you prefer rock, I suggest you try muggle rock music- Pink Floyd to be specific. Guarantee you won’t be going back to the freaking Hobgoblins after that.”

“But I don’t like rock music,” Sirius said.

Lauren shrugged and looked pointedly at him, “Your parents will probably hate it even more.”

Sirius took the hint and grinned, granting Lauren a high-five. 

After the feast, Lauren had been heading off towards Hagrid’s hut when Lily and Mary joined her too. She smiled at that, some things never changed apparently. It had never been decided that they’d visit him together, but somehow it had ended up being this way every year. The three of them, marching off down the hill to his hut, just like they’d been doing for the past two years.

Hagrid’s pet dog, Fang, greeted them with loud barks and slobbering kisses and Lauren immediately felt at ease when Hagrid appeared from inside, his huge form blocking almost all the light shining from his living room. Anyone would be afraid of that image, but it only brought comfort to them. The three girls, being muggleborn and half-bloods raised in muggle towns, had been feeling lost and confused two years back. Remembering his kind demeanor from when he’d helped them onto the boats, each had decided to come meet him again to ask about the castle, the ghosts floating above the dinner tables, the speaking portraits and every other crazy thing about Hogwarts. It had been quite a comical scene when Lily had been munching on Hagrid’s rock hard biscuits and in came Lauren, hesitantly asking him the same questions, and then came Mary a few minutes later, quite surprised that she hadn’t been the only one who’d decided to seek solace in the company of a half-giant and his huge pet. 

“Nice ter see ya’ girls, I was waitin’ fer ya! I go’ me biscuits in the oven too, well com’on in!” he ushered the girls in, his grin hidden beneath his scraggly beard.

\---x---

The first few weeks of third-year passed by pretty smoothly. This year’s Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Nolan Johnson, had begun their training pretty early, but Lauren was glad he let her off for not turning up sometimes since she was still a reserve. She had attended every practice religiously last year and knew all their tactics and strategies by heart, but she had soon come to a realisation that their seeker was pretty darn good and she probably going to spend this Quidditch season on the bleachers as well. So, while the boys were out practicing, she took the liberty to set up a few pranks to give them a taste of their own medicine, not a bit surprised when Remus willingly volunteered and came up with brilliant ideas.

For she had heard his signature saying quite a lot. 

“Its not that I’m a good boy, lads, its just that I’m clever enough to not get caught, unlike you morons,” he’d say all the time in the Common Room.

Now that she thought about it, this guy next to her was probably the mastermind for most of their pranks, and not at all the innocent goody-two-shoes that all teachers perceived him to be.

He’d ordered her to get some eggs, flour and lemons from the Kitchens and she hurried about with her task, afraid she’d get caught by the many students and teachers still lingering around the halls.

Turning around the corner of the first floor, still immersed in her thoughts, she almost walked by a narrow corridor near an unused classroom when she suddenly stopped short. Breathing as quietly as she could, she strained her ears to hear the sound she’d thought she heard. A few seconds passed by, and then she heard it. Whimpering sounds and hiccups, it sounded like someone was crying. Drawing nearer to the sound at the end of the dingy corridor, she realised it was someone pleading.

“P-please, please let me go. I’ve never done anything to you!” a panicked voice sobbed.

She tread lightly, cautiously withdrawing her wand but not lighting it up, in case she’d be spotted. She didn’t know what she was walking into, if she should just let this go and the matter would resolve in itself, if this was even something that she should interfere in or call for a teacher or a prefect. But one look around was enough to know this side of the floor was completely empty and no one was around to help.

“No! P-please!” the voice was louder now and Lauren peeked a look around the corner.

A Hufflepuff student, first-year, he looked like, hung in the air upside down, seemingly anchored mid-air by his left leg and a fifth-year Slytherin boy stood near by. He sneered viciously as the Hufflepuff student flailed desperately, whimpering and sobbing.

“Shut your mouth, Abbott, or you’re getting something much worse,” the fifth-year spat.

He shifted closer to Abbott till they were face-to-face, and he grabbed a handful of his brown hair. “What were you playin’ at, huh? Tryin’ to take the mickey out of me, eh, you dirty mudblood? In front of all the Slytherins!” he roared.

“P-please, I didn’t know-”

“Exactly,” he trailed his wand from Abbott’s temple to his neck, “you didn’t know.” He spoke ominously. 

That’s when she stepped forward, She’d seen enough, the second his wand had touched Abbott’s neck, she felt her heart skip a beat with fear and staying hidden was no longer an option.

“Let him go!” Lauren ordered.

The fifth-year jumped in surprise, whipping around with wide eyes and almost dropping his wand in the process. But the second he saw Lauren, he relaxed and resumed his early demeanor.

Not sparing another glance at her he turned back around, recoiling his wand to cast a spell at Abbott.

Lauren’s eyes grew even larger, and multiple thoughts and feelings rushed to her mind. Trying to think quick, she interrupted the Slytherin just as he was about to say the spell. 

“Didn’t you hear me? I said _let him go!_ ”

The Slytherin boy sighed in annoyance, and in a blink of an eye he was facing her, wand pointed at her neck this time.

“I’ll say it once, girl. Get out of here if you want to live. And if you try to stop me again, you’ll regret it.” he said, a vicious spark in his eyes.

Lauren stood up taller, “Too late, you bastard. My friend’s already gone to call Professor McGonagall, she’ll be here any minute now.” she watched him carefully as he looked afraid for a second, but her short burst of confidence soon deflated when he looked back at her, an evil smirk on his face.

“See, I’ve got to give it to ya, you’ve got some nerve comin’ here and speaking your mind at me like that,” he stepped closer, “but you’re just a wee little thirteen year old girl, love.”

His smirk vanished.

“And I think you’re lying.” he stated.

Before he could say or do anything further, Lauren whipped out her wand and blindly shot an Expelliarmus at his direction. She thought she heard Abbott slam on the ground but she was too busy scrambling for the fifth-year’s wand, picking it up before he could.

“Give it back!” he snarled.

“Abbott, get here! Stand behind me.” Lisa yelled.

The fifth-year stormed forward again but she raised her wand at him. “You’re going to walk away now, you swine,” her voice trembled with adrenaline, “unless you want me to break your wand in pieces.”

She continued, “And pick on people your own size, next time. Don’t you dare come near me or him again.” she nodded at Abbott beside her.

He looked at his wand in her hand longingly, but knowing there was nothing he could do, he decided to back off. At the same time, he still doubted her skills so tried his hand at getting his wand back again.

“I’ll go once you give me my wand bac-” a streak of red light hit him straight in the chest and he was knocked off his feet and landed with a thud.

Lauren tossed his wand on the floor, and ran towards Abbott, taking him by his hand and sprinting towards the staircase. “Run! We have to get away.”

And so they ran and ran, they didn’t stop until they’d climbed at least two sets of stairs and reached Professor McGonagall’s office door.

Without a word, she tried to take him inside, but she was surprised when she was pulled back. 

“We can’t.” Abbott said. In the bright lighting of the main corridors, she caught sight of his face properly and inhaled sharply at what looked to be extremely painful inflamed boils all over his face.

“If I tell Professor, I’ll be in more trouble.” he continued.

Lauren shook her head, She knew this feeling all too well. But experience had taught her that keeping it hidden from guardians and supervisors wasn’t the best thing to do.

“Listen here, Abbott, trust me when I say its best to tell someone. If not McGonagall then at least your house teacher.” she said, but Abbott was already backing away. “He’ll come back again to trouble you some more, let a teacher know while you can so you’ll be safe!”

“N-no, he said he’ll find me and kill m-”

“He called you a mudblood, Abbott! I heard it! You have to tell someone. He can’t kill you, no one can. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world.” she told him earnestly.

He looked a her with a broken look on his face. “If its the safest place in the world, why was he able to do this to me?” he pointed at his face, and her heart broke at that.

"My name's Charlie. Charlie Abbott," he meekly added.

There wasn’t much she could do besides respect his wishes at this point- even when she knew it wasn’t right.

"I'm Lauren Clark," she said, offering him a hand when she noticed him limping slightly.

She sighed, “Charlie I’m sorry, I don’t know the counter spell for your face, I haven’t learned it yet. Let me take you to the hospital wing, at least.”

Madam Pomfrey would probably insist on the same thing that she did, but the pain must have been more than she’d initially imagined because he instantly agreed. Walking up some more stairs towards the infirmary, she tried being as nonchalant as possible.

“So who was that bloke, anyway, eh?” she asked.

Charlie tiredly sighed, looking up with wet eyes, “Barty Crouch Jr.” 

She nodded, “Ah. Right. So what was his deal with you?”

He didn’t speak this time. But that was alright, because she had a name. She didn’t need a reason, that was something Madam Pomfrey and the other teachers could work out on their own. What he’d done and tried to do to Charlie Abbott, an innocent first-year Hufflepuff, was a good enough reason to despise him with all her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos if you understood the 'You're the Bludger to my Broomstick" lol


	9. Chapter 8: Detention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every person that we've encountered- whether they had a small role in our lives or a big one- has left an impact on us. Sometimes its an impact big enough for us to realise, and sometimes its so minute that it doesn't even dawn on us that it happened and it changed us. Until we grow up and move on and then look back to the past and realise how different we used to be.

While Professor Flitwick wrote his notes on the blackboard in front of the class, precariously balanced atop of five thick textbooks- completely oblivious to the happenings of the classroom behind him- Lauren, for once, wished that he’d turn around and put a stop to the whispers and the gossips surrounding her.

“Heard she picked a fight with Barty Crouch Jr., she’s so done for.”

“Yeah, isn’t his father in the Ministry? I reckon in a high position too.”

“No shit, mate, haven’t you heard him say that around the hallways literally all the time? That wanker deserved it, I say.”

“What’s she playin’ at, though? He’ll be back with his Dark Arts clan for revenge, for sure.”

“Well that’s what playing the overconfident hero gets you into.”

Lauren sighed internally, putting her head down and directing all her energy into copying Flitwick’s notes and and wishing for the class to be over. She glanced helplessly at her friends around her, but knew there was really nothing they could do. “People will call you all sorts of things,” she remembered her mother saying, “They talk. That’s what they do. They have nothing better to do.”

Her mother was right, absolutely right. It was just unfortunate that that didn’t help her situation in any way or make her feel any better at the moment. 

Just as she was hoping with all her might for _something_ , just _anything_ to serve as a distraction enough to stop everyone from talking about her, the room suddenly erupted into chaos when four boys stormed in, their Gryffindor robes billowing behind them. Parchments were flying about and some students shrieked when inkpots fell off their desks and they were pushed off their chairs by the boys who ran past them. Flitwick squawked in surprise and almost toppled onto the floor, hurrying to bring some order to the class and make his voice heard.

“Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! Mr. Pettigrew! Mr. Lup-”

“Oh, please, Professor!” James interrupted, “That’s quite a mouthful isn’t it? Allow us to ease your burden from now onward- you can refer to us as The Marauders!”

“The Mar- _I beg your pardon_?!” Flitwick sputtered.

Remus stepped forward to explain calmly, “We realised it was quite troublesome for teachers to call out our names because well, we do most of the things together and four names can be quite difficult to pronounce when angry so-”

“DETENTION! ALL OF YOU! LATE TO CLASS! AND THEN SHOWING CHEEK! DETENTION!”

And that was that. Just like that, the new gossip of the school was ‘The Marauders’ and Lauren’s fight with Barty Crouch Jr. was soon forgotten. And she was glad. Somehow it was more interesting listening to gossip about others rather than about yourself, and James, Sirius, Remus and Peter took full opportunity of this situation to bask in their new-found popularity. Of course, some called them idiots, some thought they were cool, and some (teachers, mostly) thought they were a nuisance. But being third-years and the fact that all of them were close to all the teachers who were secretly very fond of them meant that they were being a bit more lenient with them than usual.

‘The Marauders’ meanwhile took in all remarks with open arms, and anyone who hadn’t known them before was well acquainted with them within the week- which the girls were quite impressed with, seeing as they had been assigned detention for the same week too and that hadn’t really left them with much time to socialise.

Lauren even had the fortune of sharing one of her detentions with them- because of course she was going to be punished for defending an innocent person from Barty Crouch Jr. His father made sure that she did. 

After an argument about unfairness and injustice with Professor McGonagall outside her office, and after McGonagall had rewarded her behavior inside her office with ginger biscuits and a firm opinion that she deserved to get off the Quidditch reserves list and didn’t know what Johnson was thinking, it had been clear as day that McGonagall had no say in the the Barty Crouch matter- thus Lauren was fine with attending a detention or two to end this matter once and for all.

She’d attended a few detentions before- one had been just a few weeks back, in fact, for getting into a brawl with Gary Chang in Care of Magical Creatures when he’d apparently thought that it was funny to hide some galleons near Dorcas’ skirt and unleash some nifflers right after- but none had been even remotely as fun as it had been with the boys.

“Don’t know what you’re miffed about, Clark, a detention for hexing a Slytherin is the most honorable detention there is.” Sirius said, scrubbing the floor halfheartedly.

She rolled her eyes. Typical Sirius. “I didn’t hex him for being a Slytherin, Sirius, I hexed him for being a bully.”

“Same difference,” he shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes, picking away at the last of the gum stuck underneath the tables. “No, its not. Some Slytherins are actually nice.” she said.

He stopped what he was doing and raised his head. From the corner of her eye she noticed James stop his work too.

“Oh yeah? Name one.”

“Severus is a really nice guy.”

James burst out laughing, and Sirius’ bark of laughter echoed in the empty classroom. She felt ridiculous standing there with both of them laughing nonstop at her, but she held her ground.

“Snivellus?! _Nice_?” Sirius guffawed.

James snickered, “Well I suppose he’s nice in a way that he’s concerned about the world’s resources and saves water by showering once a month.”

Sirius laughed even harder. “Nice one James!” he could barely say the words, doubled over with laughter on the floor. 

Lauren rolled her eyes, “You both need to grow up. Most teens have oily and acne-prone skin.” she defended Severus.

James continued laughing at that, wiping tears from his eyes but Sirius had suddenly sobered up. He glanced at Lauren in a peculiar fashion and Lauren wondered what he was thinking.

But he didn’t say anything else and went back to work. James took a while to sober up too and then went on to talk about how he pitied Remus for getting stuck with Peter in the Trophy Room.

“Bless his pure soul but Peter always gets lost in that gigantic room,” James added with a snicker, “like a rat in a maze.”

Sirius chuckled heartily at that and chucked his brush at James to probably shut him up, but Lauren didn’t understand what was so funny. She looked at them in confusion but when neither elaborated on the joke, she shrugged and moved on to her next task which was mopping the floor. 

James and Sirius meanwhile cracked jokes and complained about how hard Nolan was going at them and relentlessly making them practice the same strategies as last year. Soon the topic morphed into the rival teams’ players and Lauren excitedly related to them an incident that had occurred in second year.

“Remember when we spied on the Ravenclaw tryouts last year along with Nolan?”

James and Sirius nodded.

“ _Well_..it actually turns out Elizabeth Warren had some of her non-player friends acting spies as well and they saw us watching so she literally faked the entire practice session afterwards.”

They gasped loudly and let out shocked exclamations and a few..choice..colourful words.

“No bloody wonder! Their moves during the match were completely different than the ones we saw them practicing!” James analysed. 

Meanwhile the only remark Sirius spared to the conversation was “Fucking Ravenclaws.”

“How did you even find this out?!” James asked in wonder.

Lauren laughed, “Warren is a really friendly person, I remember she told me where the Ravenclaw common room was in first year. So I met her in the train again after second year ended and she told me we weren’t as smart as we thought we were. Jokingly of course, she wasn’t being mean,” Lauren narrated, almost done with mopping the floor, “We had a good laugh about it and she told me not to tell Nolan because he gets really miffed when he gets outwitted like that.”

James chuckled, “Yeah he’s got a big ego, I can tell.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Clark, do you wanna go right now? You wanna fight?”

“Aww...did I hurt your ego?”

Sirius had been watching the whole exchange lazily from the corner, his only input to the conversation being snickers and smiling when Lauren one-upped James at their banter. But it seemed it was only him who noticed that Lauren, in the midst of playfully shoving James and laughing at his quips, had been steadily losing track of her surrounding and in any second now was going to trip and fall right on the mop bucket- which would hurt a lot. Possibly break a few bones. 

He jumped up just as Lauren backed up a few steps and slipped over the spilled water near the bucket. It was like slow-motion. There she was, suddenly mid-air, facing the ceiling, none of her limbs under her control. Already letting out a shriek, she shut her eyes and scrunched her face in anticipation of landing painfully on the bucket. Her mother’s face showed up in her thoughts, and her pet owl Bony’s, and she swore she heard Madam Pomfrey’s scoldings echoing around the room. Oh God, Pomfrey would scold me so much, she thought. Death by falling on bucket. She couldn’t wait to have that written on a Chocolate Frog card specially dedicated to her for having the dumbest death ever.

She vaguely heard something being yelled at her but ignored it as she fell backward, limbs twisted in air.

And her eyes snapped open when her back landed on wet, cold, hard floor.

Staring at the cobwebbed ceiling in complete shock, she slowly turned her head to the side, spotting Sirius with his wand out and the mop bucket sitting right beside him. She looked at him in a confused daze.

“H-how did you do that?” she frowned.

“How did I do what?” he asked as disinterestedly as he could, although James could still spot signs of remnant panic on his face.

James stared from Lauren to Sirius and Sirius to Lauren, also in shock but only because so much had happened so quickly. He didn’t even know how Sirius had jumped up so quickly. He hesitantly decided to break the tension by helping her up.

Her back groaned in protest but she stood up shakily. She was still in shock, she’d been mentally prepared for a bucket landing but got a cement floor instead. She looked at him again, this time in accusation.

“You used a summoning charm!” she pointed a finger at him.

Sirius jutted his hip out. “ _That’s_ what you’re on about?! How about ‘Thanks for saving my life, Sirius?’”

Lauren scoffed, “Oh don’t be dramatic, it’s just a fall. I wouldn’t have died,” she rolled her eyes. 

“But YOU!” she pointed at him again, “You used a fourth-year spell! All this time you’ve been letting us think you’re just a rule-breaking uncaring never-studying bottom-of-the-class student but you know fourth-year spells!” 

Sirius glanced uneasily at James standing behind her but she made him snap his attention back at her again.

“I bet you study in the Library when none of us are around too!”

Sirius gasped, “Take that back!”

“NO! You’re secretly a front-row student, aren’t you? You secretly read books on advanced magic in your dorm, don’t you?” she accused.

Sirius was sputtering and couldn’t speak a word clearly so she turned back to James, “Can you confirm, Potter?”

James glanced at Sirius and then back at Lauren. Seemed like that was all he’d been doing the past few minutes. But then Sirius saw the sorry look in James’ eyes when he glanced at him again and he knew. He knew it was over.

James cleared his throat, “He has The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7 hidden underneath his bed.”

Both Lauren’s and Sirius’ jaws dropped- but for different reasons. Sirius felt betrayed, and Lauren was partly impressed and partly betrayed- who wouldn’t be, when they found out someone who’d constantly convinced them to not study and even play during holidays AND exam season was secretly so smart that he was reading up on advanced material?

Lauren gasped loudly with eyes wide as saucers, turning to Sirius in slow-motion.

Sirius sputtered, “Look, Lauren- its not what you think-”

“Shut your mouth! I almost failed Charms because of you!”

“But you didn’t! Hell, you got an E last year!”

“That’s because Mary set a curfew on me!” Lauren talked back, mumbling under her breath, “...Merlin, I owe Mary my life.”

“ _No_ , you owe _me_ your life.” Sirius responded wisely.

Lauren stopped short, going back and forth in her mind between a snarky comeback, a comic insult, sarcasm, or just an eye-roll. But she guessed she took too long deliberating, because the moment passed too quickly and she had to settle with just an eye-roll while turning back to her mop.

She picked up the bucket by Sirius’ side and wheeled it over to the spot she had yet to mop. Picking up her mop that had fallen down, she went back to business, not noticing James and Sirius exchange ‘wtf is she doing’ looks with each other.

James decided to speak up. “Umm..Lauren dear..what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m mopping, what does it look like I’m doing?”

James crossed his arms, giving up pretense of cleaning, “Honey, _we have a wand_.”

Lauren whipped her head towards them, spotting Sirius waving his wand to bring her attention towards it as if she were a baby. She mentally face palmed herself. She was so intent on calling him out on knowing advanced spells that the fact that he actually had a wand during detention completely flew over her head. Extremely appalled, she decided to call them out on something else instead.

“ _Why_ didn’t you say that _before_ I mopped the _entire room and cleaned twenty desks and twenty chairs_?!” she yelled.

James laughed uneasily, “Uhh...it was a prank?” he sheepishly rubbed his neck, already preparing his body to make a run for the door when he saw Lauren’s face hardening.

“James Potter you have ten seconds to run before I kick your arse to China.”

Once their secret was out, the three just sat on the floor chatting through the rest of detention, making plans for the upcoming Christmas holidays and talking about dreams of visiting other countries in the future. Lauren noticed the boys talked with twinkling eager eyes and excitement in their voices whenever a Muggle topic was touched, especially anything to do with driving. They groaned with envy when Lauren mentioned she was getting a driving license as soon as she was of age because that was the one ‘normal teen thing’ that her father was adamant for her to do. 

James whined that his parents would never allow him to do such a rash thing as driving Muggle vehicles but Sirius plainly told him to hold his tongue and not crash his dreams with reality- because apparently it was common knowledge among the Gryffindor boys that Sirius dreamed of owning a motorbike one day, one day when he had enough money and freedom to do so. James shared that dream, and Lauren was surprised every time she learned small things like these about him because he only seemed to show his desperate lover side to the world. He was so much more than that- a good friend, a good son, funny and smart- and Lauren was glad he was her friend. He’d promised Sirius he’d support his reckless fantasy since he couldn’t get a bike of his own. And Sirius’ face lit up with a smile, the kind Lauren hadn’t seen for a while, the genuine kind, when she promised she’d help him learn how to drive it once he’d bought it. 

They could have talked for hours but Flitwick soon showed up to relieve them from detention, and Sirius swiftly hid his wand again, gratefully accepting ‘his wand’ that Flitwick handed back to him. 

James insisted he needed a snack before heading off to the dorms, and since the Kitchens were nearby, Lauren agreed to accompany him. As James stepped inside, however, Sirius only leaned against the wall outside, arms crossed and no particular expression on his face. She decided to stay outside and wait for James too, leaning beside Sirius against the wall.

It was silent; they could hear the elves rushing about inside the Kitchens, attending to James as much as they could, but outside, it was silent. Neither spoke anything and but it was a comfortable silence. Late as it was, Lauren sleepily stared at the ornate ceiling, thinking about everything and nothing.

Sirius broke the silence first. Turning his head towards her, his voice was so low, she barely heard what he said. She turned her head towards him and stared blankly at him. He understood and repeated his words.

“Why do you defend Slytherins like that?”

She frowned, “What do you mean?”

“You defended Severus. He’s a Slytherin and everybody hates them. They do Dark Arts, and hate anyone with a drop of Muggle in them. They think they’re above everyone else and you defend someone like that?”

She contemplated his words, a sleepy smile on her face. Taking some time to think of what to say, because although she had firm opinions, making someone who had a firm opinion of his own believe otherwise wasn’t easy.

Then she remembered the perfect words and looked at him fondly in the eye.

“Just because you’re in Ravenclaw doesn’t mean you’re smart. And just because you’re in Gryffindor doesn’t mean you’re not smart.” she gave a small smile, “Right?”

She waited for him to say something, but when he only looked at her and stayed silent, she turned her head back to the front again and closed her eyes, knowing he had some thinking to do. He turned his head back to the front too, unconsciously mirroring Lauren’s actions. The only difference was his eyes remained open, as he let out a soft exhale and pondered on her words instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you found any mistakes or lack of flow in some places, do let me know! Its 3 am and I haven't re-checked this this chapter. In fact, I thought this could be two chapters. But I keep writing and writing until I find the right ending and it turns out this had just one. Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'd like it if you commented down below if you prefer the next chapter to be a present or a future one. Do you guys just want to go with this story line which is catching up a lil bit and friendships are deepening or do you want a darker one of the future? Let me know! (and let me now quick cuz i got only six (6) days to write it lol)
> 
> Love you all! Especially the 3 DARLINGS who bookmarked this story!! I cried a lil bit when I saw that :')


	10. Chapter 9: I Spy With My Little Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to stop writing so much for one chapter; only 8 chapters in and I've got a 25k word count already smh.
> 
> But the main point is: Your wish is my command! Hope you liked the sneak peak of the future! Not as dark as The Night We Won But Lost but well, its got *relatively* more Sirius/Lauren in it ;)  
> Sauren? Lirius? Clack? Blark? Lol idk I'll let you guys come up with a good ship name hahaha

Nine friends stood at the end of a dark alleyway smack in the middle of London. It reeked of rubbish and the distinct sounds of rats scratching their way around their chest of treasure were the only music of the night. They stood in silence- but all because of different reasons. Some were in awe, some were in shock, some only shook their head, not even surprised anymore, and some select few only sported a dangerous glare on their face while Sirius and James stood with their hands in their jeans pockets and sheepish smiles on their faces.

“Can I join you guys?” Peter finally spoke, effectively breaking the silence.

“Ah, sorry mate, maybe next time yeah?” Sirius rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “Not that I’m particularly concerned about Muggle laws since you can bet I _will_ be speeding, but lets at least start right by having only two on the bike right now.” he snickered.

Peter smiled, “Alright, you owe me one though, yeah?”

Sirius smacked Peter’s back affectionately, “You bet! Put that on the tab Wormtail.” he grinned.

“You lot do realise we’ve got to go to duty in-” Remus checked his wristwatch, “-six hours, yeah?” 

The rest of them continued staring at Sirius and James and the shiny new motorcycle standing innocently in front of them that Sirius had just invested a hefty sum of money in.

Remus glanced at everyone else who seemed to have frozen expressions and rolled his eyes, “Right, well, I’m off. Some of us actually have to be awake during look-outs and report the details back to the Order rather than dozing off during duty.”

Remus’ words barely registered with Lauren and the fleeting thought of “Look-outs and duties. What do they even matter at this point?” crossed the back of her mind but her attention was still glued to the bike and Sirius standing there proudly, admittedly looking like a movie star in his leather motorcycle jacket. Mary must have had similar thoughts and joined Remus for the walk back to her place which was on the way to his, because Lauren noticed minutes later that she was gone too.

Lily glared at James, “James Potter, we are in the middle of WAR! How can you even _think_ of buying a motorcycle for gods sake?!” she screeched.

“And you!” Lauren glared at Sirius, “How could you not tell me you were finally buying a motorcycle?! I could’ve suggested a great model!”

Sirius looked affronted, “Did you just say my baby isn’t great?! She _flies_! I will _not_ hear such words about her, especially not right in front of her! She has feelings, you know!”

Meanwhile James was sputtering, “Lily, I didn’t even buy it! Sirius did, I didn’t spend a pence on it! Well...maybe I might have convinced him now was the perfect time and to just go through with it but-”

“You WHAT?!” Lily screeched even louder, and the scratching of rats in the background turned to scuttering which then turned to silence, “ _James, times are not safe for anyone!_ -” 

Lauren turned away from the argument and to Sirius, “D’you know how to ride it?”

Sirius shook his head, "Not really..."

“C’mon I’ll teach you the basics.”

“ _Our lives are in danger, people are dying-_ ” 

Sirius grinned and followed her, zipping up his jacket and putting his serious face on once she began her instructions.

“Here’s the clutch, see, and here’s the ignition-”

“- _How is buying a bike and running off for a ride a good idea right now?!_ ”

“-and you gotta make sure to not put your foot there when you’re riding, that spot right there is better spot-”

“Lily,” James spoke so calmly that both Sirius and Lauren stopped their own conversation and turned to them, “Times not being safe and people dying and our lives being in danger are exactly why getting a bike right now was the perfect time to do so.” He cupped her head, placing a kiss on her forehead, “If we stop living our lives because of the war, the Order, and fighting back- everything is pointless.” he looked at her imploringly.

He’d only whispered the words to her, but they resonated loudly in the dingy alleyway. Lauren, Marlene and Dorcas were all still expecting a firm refusal and an even better comeback from Lily, so their eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when she only nodded and stepped back, smiling softly.

James quickly kissed her on the lips and ran towards the bike, grinning wide. 

“Oh boy,” Marlene finally spoke, “He’s got you so whipped.”

“Shut up” Lily quickly said.

“Good job there, mate,” Lauren whispered to him when he reached her, “You gotta teach me how to do that some time, alright?”

James weaved his hand through his messy hair, “Sorry dear, it only comes with true love, it can’t be taught,” he beamed.

Lauren gagged, “Ew get out of here, you two.”

She backed away as they both took their seats on the motorcycle, Sirius driving and James riding pillion.

“Alright,” Marlene announced, with her arms around Lily, Lauren, Dorcas and Peter, “now that you four lovebirds have got your problems settled-”

Lauren discreetly punched her arm, “I’ve told you a million times not to do that!” she spoke in hushed tones.

“- yeah, yeah Sirius and Lauren aren’t dating, we get it,” Marlene spoke loudly, and Lauren looked anywhere but at Sirius, “but you lads go on for a ride then, we girls and Peter are gonna chat at Lily and James’ for a while- we’ll probably see you there after.” 

James grinned and yelled his farewell excitedly, whooping and punching the air with his fists. While he had everyone’s attention with his antics and an exaggerated flying kiss to Lily, Lauren wished she had missed the faint smirk on Sirius’ face and a flirty twinkle in his eyes as he glanced at her, only for a tenth of a second- it would have been so easy to miss and let it go by unnoticed. But she caught it anyway and now she would spend an unhealthy amount of time pondering over it. Which is why she wished again that she had missed it.

He turned back and faced the front just as quickly, his expressions back to the determination and exhilaration that they’d held before as if they hadn’t been vastly different only seconds ago. The motorcycle’s engine roared as it was brought to life, drowning every other measly sound in the alleyway. Marlene, Dorcas and Peter cheered and even Lily and Lauren were grinning, their hearts thumping in tune with the loud roar.

He reversed the motorcycle out of the alleyway carefully, preferring to look back as he did instead of looking at the side mirrors. James didn’t know what to do so he looked back as well, watching the motorcycle reverse. Once it was all backed up and ready to go, Sirius turned back to the girls (and Peter), ready to drop some cool one-liner that he was usually so good at, but unexpectedly stopped short at the sight. Among all four of them, it was Lauren that stood out the most- but he supposed that was only because she right in his line of vision. There she stood, looking ethereal covered in the white glow of the headlights even though she was only clad in dirty jeans and a baggy sweatshirt- he smiled in amusement when he once again noticed how her fashion sense had never changed since school. Her hair- messily chopped up to her shoulders by Dorcas because she insisted she had no time for a ‘leisure activity’ such as going to the hair salon- rustled softly in the light October breeze, and the bright headlights gave him the power to be able to distinguish every strand that rebelliously left the rest and every strand that clung to the material of her sweatshirt.

Lauren squinted in the light, unable to see anything behind it, and put her hand up to shield her eyes. She was just about to ask what was going on when Marlene took it upon herself to voice out everyone’s opinion, although without the formalities.

“What the fuck, Black! Get the light out of our faces!” she hollered.

“Yeah yeah we’re outta here! Catch you on the groovy, mates!” Sirius yelled out in a cool manner, giving a mock salute and driving away.

The alleyway was shrouded in silence again, as the four friends left behind watched the red tail light disappear into the night. They were long gone by now, and Dorcas was the one to break the silence this time.

“Alright,” she looked from Lily to Lauren, hand on her hips, “Which one of you taught that poor boy the wrong meaning of ‘groovy’?

\-----x-----

“Why did Remus and Mary leave so early, I wonder?”

“Yeah, there’s plenty of time until duty...Remus especially, he’s always off to somewhere isn’t he?”

Lauren was clearing up the dishes from the dining table during the conversation and stopped midway as she exhaled irritably though her nose, “Stop it.” she said.

The others turned to her in surprise.

“There’s enough suspicion and secrets going around anyway, we don’t need any more. Remus is our friend. And full moon’s near, the poor guy is just tired.”

“Yeah but-” Marlene started.

“That’s enough, Marlene. Let’s not talk about spies right now at least. We’re just suspecting each other while the real spy is sleeping soundly at night. Let’s just enjoy the little bit of free time we have left right now, yeah?” she went back to clearing the dishes, “Merlin knows we aren’t going to be able to hang out like this for months since everyone’s on different schedules.”

“Lauren’s right,” Lily admitted, “Tonight is all about fun and living _normally_...hence the bike and the wine.”

Dorcas rolled her eyes, smiling tipsily, “Honestly, was the wine really the best idea?” she checked her wristwatch, “we have three hours to duty and we obviously cant sleep now..”

“You know,” Marlene spoke thoughtfully, “Maybe Remus was onto something here. He’s just as smart as always; predicted way beforehand that we’re gonna be dozing off during look-out.”

They snickered, and Lauren was glad Marlene hadn’t taken offense and and responded good-naturedly. None of them knew or understood how three hours had gone by so quickly- but the night had been well spent on the first proper home-cooked meal they’d had in a while along with some bottles of wine and endless talks of anything and everything. Childhood friends, they could talk for hours if given a chance, which was not often these days given the hectic amount of work that had to be done as members of the Order.

Although Lauren was unhappy with the work she’d been getting, and she’d been debating whether to bring this up with Dumbledore.

“It’s not fair, he gives all of you important work, work that actually matters, and here I am literally sitting the days away. I can do so much more!” she complained.

“Heyy, every work is important,” Lily said, “Not all of us get to join the battles or discuss strategies. We just have to believe Dumbledore knows what he’s doing and that all of our hard-work will help him do so.” 

Lauren mumbled under her breath, “Well none of _my_ work is hard..”

Lily was going to reply again, this time more firmly because she truly believed Lauren had a big hand in this fight just as the rest of them, but she was interrupted by a glowing corporeal form that glided over right in front of them.

Dorcas was immediately alert and brought out of her tipsy mind, “Well, speaking of the Order..”

In minutes, every one of them was ready to go. Disappointed though they were that their ‘fun and living normally’ time had been brought to a premature end, they couldn’t let it affect their actions, not slightly, not even a bit. Because they were all too familiar with the unspoken message the arrival of the patronus brought. It could be anything- an urgent meeting, plans for the next day, preponement of arranged duties, announcement of battle, deaths. Only thing for sure was that it was never good- no news from the Order was ever good these days.

They were at the Order in record time, used to doing this by now, like a natural instinct, expecting the worst. Most of the other members were there too, McGonagall stood near Dumbledore looking grim and serious, and Moody stood at the back of the room almost hidden, leaning against the wall. The atmosphere was heavy and thick with anxiousness and a sense of foreboding; nobody took a seat and remained standing uneasily, awaiting orders. Lily looked panicked although she trying to keep her face as straight as she could. Mary had arrived as well, and she noticed Lily’s face so she nudged her questioningly.

Lily looked at her with worry etched on her face, “James isn’t here.”

Indeed, he wasn’t. Lauren had noticed a while back as well, when she realised a particularly loud, arrogant voice belonging to a tall, long-haired, black-clothed form was missing from the crowd. But there was no time to worry. They were safe, wherever they were. And even if they weren’t, it was up to them to get them out of trouble. There was no time to worry.

“James and Sirius are in trouble.” Dumbledore finally spoke.

Lily gasped and nudged her way to the front of the crowd.

“We were just informed by them that they were chased through the city by Death Eaters. Some were incapacitated, they are to be picked up from the location James and Sirius have sent us and interrogated immediately. The others have hidden and James and Sirius are currently on look-out and have them in sight.” Dumbledore informed, “We are to prepare for battle immediately. All those not on duty tomorrow, kindly volunteer and join Alastor to the location.”

Lauren knew Lily was dying to burst out and beg to volunteer and for someone to take her duty for tomorrow so she could join the battle and ensure James was safe. But Lauren could also tell she was doing her best to compose herself and not say anything to delay the team from leaving any further so she stayed put. She had to trust in the other members, who were more experienced after all, to bring him and Sirius back safely.

Dumbledore continued, “Meanwhile, the ones on duty tomorrow, if you could spare a bit of your time to bring back the Death Eaters currently lying unconscious on the streets of London, we’ll begin interrogating them immediately.” he looked at Lauren, “A muggle policeman and a few other muggle civilians were exposed to magic and have to be taken care of..”

She instantly knew what he meant and nodded, upset that again, she couldn’t join the battle, but happy to be helping anyway. 

“Alright then,” he nodded, “let’s get to work, then, everyone.”

Alastor took it as a signal to finally take up the leader position, “Alright everyone, those not on duty tomorrow, you know who you are. Follow me,” he watched as the sea of crowd separated as everyone took positions in their rightful place. “Good, good. Fabian and Gideon, take three each on your teams. A total nine of us and James and Sirius should be more than enough for those scums!”

They followed suit, and the teams quickly bustled out of the room, and Moody’s voice was still faintly heard inside, “Constant vigilance!” he was shouting.

Alice and Frank meanwhile took charge of the team to be going to catch the unconscious Death Eaters, taking Remus, Peter, Lily, Mary, Marlene and Dorcas under their wings. 

While they gave the mandatory briefing that every one of them had ingrained in their brains by now, Lauren took the chance to discreetly slip away from the group and head towards Dumbledore who stood with McGonagall, talking in low tones with their heads bent over something on the table- most probably an upcoming battle plan or layout of the current location where James and Sirius were currently at.

She softly cleared her throat to announce her presence, “Albus, could I speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course, Miss Clark- although I would suggest to make it quick, time is of the essence.”

She nodded, “Yes, of course,” she said, wondering how to bring up her bitter feelings and convey her message to him while still behaving as respectfully as she could.

“We have a spy, Albus,” she started firmly, keeping check of his expressions at every second which was in vain because they remained as impassive as ever, “You know we do; someone who always gives our location away, someone who always lets our enemies know of our plans before we even execute them!”

She paused, waiting for him to say something but he seemed intent on letting her go on.

So she did.

“The Order is made of the most experienced and skilled wizards and witches; we have numbers too by now. So why is it that we lose every time?” her voice was getting louder now, and the ones left in the room inconspicuously tried to listen in on their conversation.

“Miss Clark, wars are not easily won,” he said wisely, “We can’t expect to win each time. And every time we lose it can't be blamed on a so-called spy. War has losses, war has casualties. We just have to keep doing our best to push back the enemy lines.”

“So?! Is that it?” she said outrageously, “Is death, sorry, _casualty_ the only other thing left for us to go through?! Are you going to wait until one of us _dies_ to realise our security has been breached?” 

“Miss Clark-”

“We have all sorts of means to find out who the spy is, for Merlin’s sake! Veritaserum, just tell Slughorn to bring some and we could find out in minut-”

“Miss Clark, I believe the others are waiting for you. As I mentioned before, time is of the essence. We can continue this delightful conversation later,” he motioned towards the door kindly, “For now, lets go on with our missions to ensure James and Sirius don’t become the Order's first casualties.”

“But-”

“Lauren, let’s go,” Frank called, “We’re running out of time. Everybody grab a partner to apparate with.”

When she returned to the group as they were exiting the room, Frank whispered to her, “What were you thinking, arguing with Dumbledore like that?!”

Her blood was still boiling with words she had left to say, and while her expressions had been relatively more restrained during her conversation with Dumbledore, her face was an open book now.

“Someone’s got to break the taboo and talk about it! We all know it. For how long are we going to just keep suspecting each other instead of trying to investigate it?”

Lily sighed, following the rear of the group, “And to think tonight was going to be all about fun and not thinking about spies..”

She’d just spoken out what everyone else had been thinking, so no one had anything to say or add any more to it. Like an overly-rehearsed dance move, they paired up, Lauren with Frank, and apparated to the location without speaking any further, withdrawing their wands for precaution as they inspected the scene.

“Is it here? Or are we to search the whole place?” Dorcas asked, looking around confusedly. Broken pieces of broomsticks dotted the street, splintered and cracked. But there were no Death Eaters in sight.

Alice frowned, “It’s here. They were supposed to be here.”

“Weren’t they supposed to be incapacitated? Reckon they recovered earlier than we thought?” Mary said thoughtfully, while everyone else looked around their surroundings, highly alert.

“No,” Alice shook her head, “They were supposed to be out for at least another hour with the kind of spell they were hit with. Someone must have come and helped.”

Peter frowned, his voice shook slightly in fear, “But how..? The only other ones who knew about them were his pals that have been surrounded by the Order by now.”

They all could guess how it had happened. Perhaps besides Peter, who Lauren was sure would come to the same conclusion soon enough. But no one spoke of it nor did they mention it- for doing so would confirm everyone’s worst suspicions and make it even more real than they wanted it to be. It would affirm that the Order had a spy in their midst, it would confirm that the looks they just passed each other were not of camaraderie but of doubt and mistrust. 

Remus sighed in disappointment, his breath fogging up in the chilly October morning, “Come on..lets go. They’re not here.”

Frank looked down as well, saying nothing as he passed his arm to Lauren to let her apparate with him. “Back to the Headquarters. Lets wait for the others to come back..hopefully their mission went better than ours.”

“You lot go ahead..I’ll finish up my job and join you back at the Headquarters in a bit.” Lauren said. It wasn’t hard to miss, she’d just spotted a police car at the end of street, upturned and dented, windows shattered and the glass gleaming in the light of the lamppost. She didn’t see any people around, but on a proper glance she spotted a number of shadows and silhouettes by the corner at the end of the street. If the encounter between the Death Eaters and James and Sirius had been anything like she’d imagined, she was sure it would have gathered quite a lot of unwanted attention by the Muggles, and they must have spotted a few people flying by on their broomsticks. 

“I’ll stay with you,” Lily said, urging the rest to head back to the Headquarters and report the situation to Dumbledore.

\---x---

The wait was long. Each second seemed to last an hour and the silence was deafening. With not a bit of sleep in the previous hours, staying up and sitting idle waiting for Moody’s teams to return was torturous, especially after the sudden rush of nerves, anxiety and adrenaline they’d had in the last hour. No one spoke a word and no one attempted to head back home to their beds, for even that wouldn’t be enough to provide the comfort they needed. A third of the Order was currently in danger and the rest hadn’t heard a word from them- whether the situation was under control, whether they were currently in battle or just on a look-out, whether they needed reinforcements or if the arrival of additional people would only give their positions away. So all the others could do was wait, hoping against hopes that everyone would return home safe and sound.

Lauren hadn’t been there when Frank had reported back to Dumbledore that their lead had been useless because the Death Eaters had had help somehow, but she was hoping upon returning that he’d address the presence of a spy or announce an investigation. But he did none of that. That worsened her mood, and the unfamiliar feelings of hatred, rage and helplessness seemed to envelop her soul; the idleness and silence aggravating them even more. Her fists were clenched tightly and she had to force her eyes to remain glued on the table lest she should look up and cast a deathly look towards Dumbledore, Shacklebolt and anyone else running the Order.

“Hey,” Lily said softly, so her words would only be heard by Lauren, “It’ll be fine, dont’t cry. I’m sure they’re safe..”

Lauren realised with a start that her suppressed feelings had begun to come out as tears, she hastily wiped them off as Lily smiled sadly and continued, “Its hard to bring those two down, haven’t we both tried so hard to do so for years? If we can’t do it, no Death Eater can either, I guarantee it.”

Lauren’s mustered a smile to satisfy Lily. “Yeah..they’ll be back with their annoying selves soon enough.” she grabbed Lily’s hands, “Thanks Lily.” she said, as genuinely and with as much feeling as she could put in those words.

It was silent for another hour again. Someone had gotten up and distributed water and hot coffee around the table, which most of them took gratefully. The others sat in their places, desperately keeping their bloodshot eyes peeled, refusing to move and have a wink of sleep until they knew their comrades were safe.

Horrible scenarios of what could be happening occurred in everyone’s minds and as the second hour drew to an end, many began shifting uneasily, wondering when would be a good time to wait until they decided to go look for them.

Remus and Peter both sat hunched over their chairs, foots silently tapping the floor repeatedly, and Lauren observed that this was a habit they shared from living together for so long and did it whenever they were in deep thought. She couldn’t even imagine how distraught they would be feeling- sure, James was Lily’s love but the boys had shared a close, unbreakable bond for almost a decade now, while dating and love had only come into the picture late into the school years. They were practically brothers, hell, one had even left his family to join his actual one, these four were family.

She was in the middle of self-reflecting what she felt at the thought of Sirius being in trouble, but didnt get a chance to really do so because the door sprang open with a bang, loud as a gunshot in the silent room. And the sound was like breaking a dam, because the room erupted in chatter and cries of joy as all the Order members jumped in surprise and hastily stood up, crowding the entryway and whoever came through it. Lauren suddenly noticed that Lily, Remus and Peter were gone from her side and already in the front of the crowd. She stood and craned her neck, trying to see if he had made it home.

But just then through the gaps within the crowd she saw his face, visibly exhausted but as strong and resilient as ever, his eyes beaten but not broken, and his face brightened up slightly when their eyes met from across the room; he smiled a smile for her, the one he knew only she’d recognise because truly, it belonged to her, and she could finally smile again because just then, she knew everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Need help from you lovelies:
> 
> As you may have noticed, this story doesn't have a damn title lol. I obviously lack creativity so I'm taking suggestions for what this fic should be called! Help me out by supporting the suggestion you liked best in the comments so I know which one to pick! 
> 
> As always, your comments in the previous chapter made my WEEK and I love you all so much <3


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